DHAKA: Nepalese prime minister Sushil Koirala is suffering from lung cancer, the country’s information minister said on Thursday, contradicting earlier claims by his party that doctors had ruled out the illness.

Koirala, 75, travelled to New York’s Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center last week for treatment after routine tests showed up a spot on his lungs, prompting cancer fears.

‘The prime minister has been diagnosed with early-stage cancer of the lung, which is curable,’ said Minendra Rijal, minister for information and communications.

‘We expect he will get better soon after undergoing radiotherapy,’ Rijal told media, reports The Straits Times.

BDST: 1909 HRS, JUNE 26, 2014