Former U.S. Secretary of State Kissinger hospitalized in Seoul

Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger suffered stomach ache when he attended a seminar here on Saturday. The 87-year-old former Secretary of State was rushed to a hospital for medical treatment, sources said.

His condition is stable, the sources added.

According to Kissinger’s original schedule, after Seoul’s visit, he is expected to attend Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service dinner in Hong Kong.

Hospital staff said Kissinger, who was in Seoul to deliver a lecture on North Korea’s nuclear program, was taken to there at around 11:00 a.m. local time on Saturday, after suddenly feeling abdominal pain.

Kissinger helped open formal relations between China and the U.S. and arms-control agreements with the Soviet Union under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.

He shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Le Duc Tho for the 1973 cease-fire which led to the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Vietnam.

Kissinger, 86, arrived in the South Korean capital Wednesday for a security forum and met with President Lee Myung-bak on Friday.