Colombia Chief Has Surgery in South Korea
Colombian President Virgilio Barco underwent emergency surgery for peritonitis shortly after arriving in Seoul today, officials said.
A nurse at Seoul National University Hospital said Barco was in the hospital recovery room but would not reveal details of the surgery or his condition.
A statement from the presidential palace in the Colombian capital, Bogota, said Barco had peritonitis and “suffered an acute perforation in the diverticulum of the colon.” No other details were provided immediately.
South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Kim Hang Kyong said Barco first became ill during a stopover in Anchorage, Alaska, on his way to Seoul. Barco, who turns 66 next week, traveled on to Seoul but was forced to postpone a summit meeting with President Chun Doo Hwan.
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