RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia's Royal Court says King Abdullah is being treated for pneumonia and that his condition has stabilized after doctors inserted a breathing tube.

The statement, which was released by Saudi state media Friday, says the 90-year-old king had been transferred Thursday to a military hospital after experiencing shortness of breath.

The Saudi monarch was initially admitted to the National Guard's King Abdulaziz Medical City hospital in the capital Riyadh on Wednesday.

Abdullah officially assumed the throne in 2005, but has largely been seen as the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia since the mid-1990s.

His successor is 79-year-old half-brother Crown Prince Salman. Abdullah has outlived two other half-brothers who held the crown prince post.