Seoul - Five Chinese military doctors who were sent to North Korea last month to treat its leader, Kim Jong Il, remain in the country, strengthening suspicion that his recovery is proceeding slowly, a South Korean newspaper reported Wednesday.

North Korea might also want to keep the physicians in the country to prevent information from leaking out about Kim's health, JoongAng Ilbo said, citing intelligence officials.

The South Korean intelligence agency has said Kim, 66, suffered a stroke in mid-August and underwent brain surgery.

Whether the Chinese doctors who remain in North Korea - all neurosurgeons - performed the operation was not known, JoongAng Ilbo said.

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Seoul  - What is Kim Jong Il's true state of health? North Korea's eccentric leader is the subject of speculation yet again. According to South Korean and American intelligence services, he is seriously ill and may have suffered a stroke.

North Korea has denied reports that Kim is ill; a high-ranking North Korean diplomat was quoted by the Japanese news agency Kyodo as saying they were part of a conspiracy.

Seoul - South Korea's state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) said Wednesday that it had abandoned talks about acquiring a stake in the ailing US investment bank Lehman Brothers.

"Korea Development Bank has stopped negotiations with Lehman Brothers because of differences over the conditions of a transaction," a KDB spokesman said in Seoul.

The decision was also made in consideration of the financial markets at home and abroad, he added.

Jun Kwang Woo, chairman of South Korea's Financial Services Commission, called on KDB Monday to be cautious over a Lehman Brothers deal in regards to the bank's privatization plans.

Seoul/Pyongyang - North Korea celebrated its 60th anniversary Tuesday, however, there were no reports of a military parade that was expected to be held, reported South Korean media.

While at a stalemate over its nuclear programmes, North Korea was expected to hold its largest ever military parade, in terms of number troops and military hardware, in its capital of Pyongyang, Yonhap news agency reported citing South Korean military officials.

Seoul - Tens of thousands of South Korean Buddhists protested Wednesday against what they said was discrimination from the government of conservative Christian President Lee Myung Bak.

About 60,000 people, including thousands of monks, took part in the rally and march through central Seoul, television reports said.

"This gathering is not to declare a state of confrontation but to end social conflict and division," said monk Wonhak from the Jogye Order, the country's largest Buddhist sect, which organized the demonstration.

He also called for more tolerance.