Kim Jong-nam’s View on North Korea

Remarks by Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of late North Korean ruler Kim Jong-il, were recently revealed and attracted great attention as he doubted Kim Jong-un’s leadership, disparaged the third-generation power succession and asserted the need for openness to help the faltering economy of North Korea.

A Japanese journalist working for the Tokyo Shimbun, Yoji Gomi met Kim Jong-nam in September 2004 at a Beijing airport by chance and since then, he has been in touch with him via email. Kim sent some 150 emails to Gomi and on Wednesday, he published a book in Japan bringing together those emails and his face-to-face interviews with Kim. The title is “My father Kim Jong-il and I”.

In one of the emails, he said, “I am worried about how much Kim Jong-un, who takes after our grandfather (Kim Il-sung) just in the physical appearance, can satisfy the people of North Korea. He is nothing but a symbolic presence. The elites around him will take the lead instead.”

In another email, he mentioned about the shelling of Yeonpyeongdo. “At first, it was very difficult to know who started it first – either North Korea or South Korea. I have only come to know it was work of North Korea after watching news. It is sad the whole world is viewing my brother as a belligerent leader.”  

On the other hand, he never mentioned about the sinking of Cheonanaham but Chosun Ilbo reported on 17 quoting his comment, “For North Korea, there is a need to emphasize that the areas near the five north-western border islands are disputed ones. Thus, they can justify their possession of the nuclear arsenal and military-first policy.”

This report soon aroused a controversy as the writer of the book Yoji Gomi claimed that the quote was a false piece of information. He demanded Chosun Ilbo’s explanation as to why they quoted non-existent comment.

Kim Jong-nam was educated in Switzerland and the former Soviet Union for about nine years and he is reportedly open to capitalist economic ideas and reforms due to his overseas studies and experiences. He allegedly fell from his father’s favour after his arrest in 2001 while attempting to enter Japan on a forged passport.

Since then, he is known to stay in China and other neighbouring countries biding his time. Some observers say that he might be looking for opportunities to play some leadership role in North Korea when the right time comes. He and Kim Jong-un are half-brothers. 

Lee Miyoung-hiyoun EnjoyMiracle@theasian.asia