Macao (AsiaNews/Agencies) – The eldest son of the North Korean “Dear Leader”, Kim Jong-nam, appeared yesterday in Macao where he is staying in a luxury hotel. The young man, who appears to have been exiled by his father Kim Jong-il, has been traveling the world for six years. His latest destination, according to an anonymous Chinese official, could become his permanent residence.
Macao has welcomed the new arrival although the anonymous official said that “the particular juridical nature of the place and what seems to be political exile create considerable problems for the central government that has yet to decide what to do not to clash with Pyongyang.”
Kim Jong-nam first hit the headlines in May 2001 he tried to enter Japan with false papers together with his wife and son. Arrested at the airport, Kim repeatedly told officials he had entered the country “to go to visit Disneyland Tokyo”. His flight from North Korea was neither explained nor confirmed by the regime.
Some political refugees say the eldest son of the dictator fell foul of the leadership when he backed the adoption of a more open economic and foreign policy, modeled on the Chinese one, during a private meeting in 2000.
Other sources point to an internal power struggle: Kim is said to have fallen into a trap laid by his stepmother Ko Young-nee, who sought to discredit him in his father’s eyes to assure that her sons, Jong-chul e Jung-woon, would succeed to power after the death of the “Dear Leader”.