Kim Jong Il designated third son Jong Woon as his successor when he was just a kid, according to Kenji Fujimoto, Kim’s private chef for more than 13 years.
Fujimoto gave an interview to Tokyo Newspaper on the 16th, in which he claimed, “On January 8, 1992, Jong Woon’s ninth birthday, a choir presented the song, ‘Step,’ for the first time. It was to idolize the successor Jong Woon. The lyric was, ‘Our Captain Kim’s gallant step, succeeding the great achievements of February.’ The February implied Kim Jong Il because his birthday is February 16.’”
He also claimed, “General Kim favors number ‘nine,’ so they supposedly presented the song first when Jong Woon turned nine.”
According to North Korean sources, in North Korea the song, “Footstep,” which idolizes Jong Woon, is being spread by the authorities. The lyric is as same as that which Fujimoto heard in 1992.
Fujimoto added, “The eldest son Jong Nam had to take a back seat, because he was born to an unlawful wife. He didn’t appear at parties at all.”
Fujimoto continued, introducing the other son, “The second son Jong Cheol has destroyed his body with steroids. He is not a leading person because he never once got upset during thirteen years.”
He recalled the time when they met first in 1990. When he met with Jong Cheol, the boy was kind and shook his hands in a friendly manner, but Jong Woon watched him through cautious eyes.
“After that, I became Jong Woon’s playmate. We played basketball, rode on horseback together. When we took a smoke break, he said to me, ‘While we are playing pleasantly like this every day, how do other people live?”
