JAPAN/FILE: Japanese journalist releases book of interviews with Kim Jong-nam, eldest son of North Korea's deceased leader, quoting him as saying the country is on the brink of collapse

Record ID: 466169

  • Title: JAPAN/FILE: Japanese journalist releases book of interviews with Kim Jong-nam, eldest son of North Korea's deceased leader, quoting him as saying the country is on the brink of collapse
  • Date: 25th January 2012
  • Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (JANUARY 23, 2012) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF BOOK SHOP SIGN READING: "YAESU BOOK CENTRE" BOOK SHOP EMPLOYEE STACKING SHELVES WITH NEWLY RELEASED BOOK, "MY FATHER, KIM JONG-IL, AND I: KIM JONG-NAM'S EXCLUSIVE CONFESSION" BY TOKYO SHIMBUN JOURNALIST YOJI GOMI TOKYO, JAPAN (JANUARY 24, 2012) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF YOJI GOMI (CENTRE) SPEAKING AT NEWS CONFERENCE AT FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS' CLUB OF JAPAN IN CENTRAL TOKYO VARIOUS OF JOURNALIST TAKING NOTES AT CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) TOKYO SHIMBUN JOURNALIST YOJI GOMI, SAYING: "Kim Jong-nam doesn't believe Kim Jong-un is completely in control of North Korea. He thinks, well, he's not had much experience, he's still young and he hasn't actually achieved anything yet, so it's the elite around him that are looking to control North Korea, looking to preserve their own interests." TOKYO, JAPAN (JANUARY 23, 2012) (REUTERS) MORE OF BOOK SHOP EMPLOYEE STACKING SHELVES COPIES OF "MY FATHER, KIM JONG-IL, AND I" ON SHELVES
  • Embargoed: 9th February 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA1FY5AM54PXCH27VZR9U7V6AGC
  • Story Text: North Korea is in danger of collapse and the country's current leader wields little personal power, a new book of interviews with Kim Jong-il's eldest son has claimed.
    "My Father, Kim Jong-il, and I", by Japanese journalist Yoji Gomi, is based on three face-to-face interviews and 150 emails with the deceased leader's eldest son, Kim Jong-nam, following a chance meeting in Beijing in 2004.
    But in his last email on January 3 this year, Jong-nam expressed concern that his youngest brother and current North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, is merely a "figurehead" -- and the country could be on track for disaster.
    "Kim Jong-nam doesn't believe Kim Jong-un is completely in control of North Korea. He thinks, well, he's not had much experience, he's still young and he hasn't actually achieved anything yet, so it's the elite around him that are looking to control North Korea, looking to preserve their own interests," Gomi told Reuters in Tokyo.
    Contrary to the popular image of Jong-nam as a high-living playboy, he is a well-read reformer, Gomi says.
    He believes North Korea's survival relies on implementing "Chinese-style" economic reforms, abolishing its hereditary system of rule and reversing the country's policy of prioritising the military says the author.
    "You see, he thinks Kim Jong-un doesn't have enough experience and if things go on like this, well there's going to be trouble. So before that happens he's pushing for North Korea to reform its economy," Gomi said.
    Jong-nam was thought to have been groomed to succeed Kim Jong-il as leader until he was arrested in May 2001 after trying to enter Japan on a forged passport. He told Japanese police he wanted to visit Disneyland.
    Since then, Jong-nam has lived abroad, spending most of his time in either Beijing or Macau.
    But now, Gomi says, the eldest son could have his eyes on a return to the top spot in North Korea.
    "If the current regime hold stable, I don't think he'll have the chance -- or the ambition -- to lead the country. But if North Korea collapses, if there's no other option, I think it's possible he may well come forward as leader."
    Kim Jong-il died on December 17 at the age of 69, leaving his youngest son of three, thought to be in his late 20s, as his anointed successor.
    The power behind the top spot is widely believed to be Jang Song-thaek, the husband of the junior Kim's aunt, a pragmatic survivor of the North's tradition of purge and bitter intrigue surrounding the country's former leader.
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