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THE ELDEST SON of the late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has suggested that his father was reluctant to see power pass to any of his sons – being opposed to the idea of a third generation of his family taking power.
In a book published this week, Kim Jong Nam suggested that internal powers in the North Korean military must have influenced his decision to appoint his younger brother, Jong Un, as the country’s new supreme military leader.
This was because, in words relayed by the Independent:
[...] the North Korean people are so used to obeying orders solely based on their belief in bloodline of [North Korea's founder] Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il that they may have trouble accepting any successor outside of that bloodline.
The comments may be an effort at self-preservation, however; it is thought that Jong Nam was the presumptive heir in the country before an infamous attempt to leave the country in 2001.
He is reported to have intercepted entering Japan – supposedly to visit the Disneyland resort in Tokyo – using a fake passport with a Chinese alias translating as “big bear”.
In the book, ghost-written by a Japanese journalist based on interviews and emails, Jong Nam argues that the debacle was in fact just one example of how North Korean diplomats flew with forged passports. His brother once entered Japan on a fake Brazilian passport, he says.
The Daily Telegraph says the book – entitled ‘My Father, Kim Jong Il, and Me’ – also outlines how Jong Nam is being ‘protected’ by China and lives between Beijing and China’s special administrative region of Macau, a gambling haven with similar legal status to Hong Kong.
Although Jong Nam feels “suffocated” in China, as he is almost always accompanied, he is immediately surrounded by security guards as soon as any trouble emerges near him.
It appears that this is an attempt by China to ensure that if the regime of Kim Jong Un collapses, it has a ready-made replacement ready to take over, and also as a possible bargaining chip to be used in diplomacy between the two countries.
Despite his relatively cushy lifestyle, however, AP reports that Jong Nam still remains concerned about the future of his country – the book alleges that rather than the Disneyland debacle, Jong Nam fell from favour by calling for major economic reforms in his country.
“Without reforms and liberalisation, the collapse of the economy is within sight,” Kim says in the book.
“But reforms and opening up could also invite dangers for the regime.”
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A touch of the green eyed monster from the older passed over brother me thinks….
Green eyed monster, that might be a good name for Irish politicians?
While far from a perfect country I admit at least they still have some sort of faith in their establishment, unlike the vast majority of Irish people who despair at the Dublin elite running us into the ground on a daily basis. I’ll never forget the emotions of their football players at the World Cup in South Africa – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsOubeMN7eQ
Heart warming stuff and disproves all the cynics who say it’s forced by the leader as this took place in South Africa outside Kim Il Jong’s remit.
Bit of a difference between faith and being brainwashed into it. Their alarm clocks are literally little speakers on the walls the wake them up every morning with messages broadcasting about the greatness of the party. If we were subjected to 24/7 propaganda as well as being forced to live in fear of disappearing, theres a good chance we’d have faith in our system too.
Yeah, not that horrible at all, just a bit of cannibalism in the north of the great worker’s paradise, a few million dead from starvation, that’s all. Nothing that the happy workers couldn’t deal with
Good to see ye believe everything ye read in the western media Val & Dave.
What about the numerous accounts from defectors who have told of the poverty they suffered, and harrowing conditions in labour camps, who have admitted that by escaping NK, their families that remain there will have been sent to these camps or put to death? Is that all just South Korean propaganda? My friend is a teacher in SK, she has told me of meeting defectors from the north and their stories. Get real.
nah, yellow will suffice.
Yep, the worker’s paradise is simply too good. Too much of a good thing can be harmful
Paddy BeBop do you know something about North Korea the rest of us don’t, or was that just a “rah rah Western liberal media” throwaway comment?
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