Lee Ki Taek of the National Unification Advisory Council says that he believes Kim Jong Il’s first son, Kim Jong Nam, is bearing the possibility of North Korea’s collapse very much in mind.
Yonhap News reported today some comments Lee made yesterday at an event in Berlin. In them, Lee explained that he heard Kim Jong Nam’s thoughts on North Korea from a person closely related to Kim last month while he was in Macau, Kim Jong Nam’s home until very recently.
According to Lee, when Kim was asked if he would go to Pyongyang to receive power in the advent of his father’s sickness, he answered, “Why would I go? I don’t even want the baton. It’s collapsing. Will it last for long?”
In a lengthy interview given to Japanese broadcaster TV Asahi on the 9th, Kim Jong Nam told the world, “Personally, I am opposed to the third generation succession,” adding of his younger half-brother’s succession, “There is nothing to regret,” “I don’t care about it at all,” and, “I hope my brother will do his best for the good life of North Korea and for the North Korean people.”
This led some to question Kim’s future safety. Notably, at a debate, “Kim Jong Nam vs. Kim Jong Eun,” held by Open Radio for North Korea yesterday in Seoul, Kim Jong Il’s former private chef, Kenji Fujimoto, said, “Kim Jong Nam’s statement could put his life in danger. I was very surprised by it.”
“North Korea always uses the expression ‘Republic’ or ‘Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’. Kim Jong Il particularly detests the term ‘North Korea’; this appears to have been a statement through which to show determination. It did not come out by accident in the process of speaking,” Fujimoto added.
Therefore, Fujimoto concluded ominously, “Since the recent actions and statements of Kim Jong Nam are jeopardizing North Korea, there is a possibility that North Korea will assassinate him.”
