ID :
42510
Sat, 01/24/2009 - 17:51
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/42510
The shortlink copeid
Kim Jong-il alone can decide on N. Korean succession, son says
BEIJING, Jan. 24 (Yonhap) -- The eldest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il said Saturday that his father was the only person that could draw out the future power structure of the country's regime amid reports that his half-brother has been named as the heir apparent.
"No one can say positively (how Kim will decide on his successor) ... only my
father will decide," Kim Jong-nam, 37, told reporters at an airport in Beijing
after arriving from North Korea.
Sources well-informed on North Korea recently said that Kim Jong-il, apparently
driven by his poor health condition from a suspected stroke last year, has
recently designated his third son, Jong-un, as his successor and delivered a
directive on the nomination to the Workers' Party leadership.
Jong-un, now 25, was born to Kim's third wife, Ko Yong-hi, who died of breast
cancer at the age of 51 in 2004. The youngest of Kim's three sons, Jong-un was
educated at the International School of Berne and is known to be a fan of
professional U.S. basketball. After his return to Pyongyang in his late teens,
the North has kept him under a shroud of secrecy and very little is known about
his character.
When asked about the state of his father's health, Jong-nam, who said he was in
Beijing for personal matters, declined to comment on "such a sensitive issue."
"Please understand that I cannot disclose anything even if I have any
information," the eldest son said, underlining that it is his principle to
exercise discretion on his father's health.
He said that he plans to stay in Beijing for a couple of days and return to North
Korea in a few weeks after spending some time in a different country, without
revealing where.
Jong-nam, the son from the North Korean leader's second wife, Song Hye-rim, had
been adrift abroad, mostly in China, since 2002, when he was expelled from Narita
airport in Japan for trying to visit Disneyland in Tokyo along with his son and
wife.
The eldest son, however, is reported to have won the support of Jang Song-taek,
the elder Kim's brother in law, in the competition to become the successor.
He is also speculated to have established connections with high-profile Chinese
officials from his frequent trips to Beijing, which may contribute to the forming
of stronger ties between the communist allies.
odissy@yna.co.kr
(END)
"No one can say positively (how Kim will decide on his successor) ... only my
father will decide," Kim Jong-nam, 37, told reporters at an airport in Beijing
after arriving from North Korea.
Sources well-informed on North Korea recently said that Kim Jong-il, apparently
driven by his poor health condition from a suspected stroke last year, has
recently designated his third son, Jong-un, as his successor and delivered a
directive on the nomination to the Workers' Party leadership.
Jong-un, now 25, was born to Kim's third wife, Ko Yong-hi, who died of breast
cancer at the age of 51 in 2004. The youngest of Kim's three sons, Jong-un was
educated at the International School of Berne and is known to be a fan of
professional U.S. basketball. After his return to Pyongyang in his late teens,
the North has kept him under a shroud of secrecy and very little is known about
his character.
When asked about the state of his father's health, Jong-nam, who said he was in
Beijing for personal matters, declined to comment on "such a sensitive issue."
"Please understand that I cannot disclose anything even if I have any
information," the eldest son said, underlining that it is his principle to
exercise discretion on his father's health.
He said that he plans to stay in Beijing for a couple of days and return to North
Korea in a few weeks after spending some time in a different country, without
revealing where.
Jong-nam, the son from the North Korean leader's second wife, Song Hye-rim, had
been adrift abroad, mostly in China, since 2002, when he was expelled from Narita
airport in Japan for trying to visit Disneyland in Tokyo along with his son and
wife.
The eldest son, however, is reported to have won the support of Jang Song-taek,
the elder Kim's brother in law, in the competition to become the successor.
He is also speculated to have established connections with high-profile Chinese
officials from his frequent trips to Beijing, which may contribute to the forming
of stronger ties between the communist allies.
odissy@yna.co.kr
(END)
