The eldest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has returned home after spending years abroad in a move that could be linked to the ruler's plans to choose an heir, a man close to Kim's son said yesterday.
Kim Jong-nam, 36, traveled from China to Pyongyang in late June, and his return "has decisive relations to the power transfer," the man said by telephone from the US. He asked not to be named, citing the sensitivity of the issue.
South Korea's top spy agency, the National Intelligence Service, declined to confirm the son's return.
Kim Jong-il has not yet publicly named an heir, prompting speculation abroad about who might eventually take the country's helm -- and whether Kim will designate one of his sons as the next leader, continuing the world's only communist dynasty.
Kim took over the leadership of North Korea following the death in 1994 of his father, national founder Kim Il-sung.
The South's spy agency had said in a report earlier this year that another father-to-son succession appears highly likely in the North. However, it indicated that there is also the possibility of a collective leadership in case of Kim Jong-il's sudden death.
The elder Kim is said to be suffering from heart disease and diabetes, but the National Intelligence Service has also said his health is not believed to be as bad as some media reported in recent months. The agency said there was no sign that chronic diseases are affecting his public activities.
The junior Kim "has played a key role in North Korea," and his return means "he will proceed to the next step" in plans outlined for him, said the man in the US, who said he has developed a close business relationship with the leader's son and has been in contact with him.
Those plans involve South Korea's aid to the North, the North's relations with the US and the replacement of a ceasefire that ended the 1950-1953 Korean War with a peace treaty, the man said, without giving further details.
The junior Kim has long been believed to have fallen out of favor after embarrassing his father in 2001, when he was caught trying to enter Japan on a fake passport, saying he wanted to visit Tokyo Disneyland.
But the man said the allegation was made by South Korea to discredit the junior Kim as a possible successor.
Drug lord Jose Adolfo Macias Villamar, alias “Fito,” was Ecuador’s most-wanted fugitive before his arrest on Wednesday, more than a year after he escaped prison from where he commanded the country’s leading criminal gang. The former taxi driver turned crime boss became the prime target of law enforcement early last year after escaping from a prison in the southwestern port of Guayaquil. Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa’s government released “wanted” posters with images of his face and offered US$1 million for information leading to his capture. In a country plagued by crime, members of Fito’s gang, Los Choneros, have responded with violence, using car
Two former Chilean ministers are among four candidates competing this weekend for the presidential nomination of the left ahead of November elections dominated by rising levels of violent crime. More than 15 million voters are eligible to choose today between former minister of labor Jeannette Jara, former minister of the interior Carolina Toha and two members of parliament, Gonzalo Winter and Jaime Mulet, to represent the left against a resurgent right. The primary is open to members of the parties within Chilean President Gabriel Boric’s ruling left-wing coalition and other voters who are not affiliated with specific parties. A recent poll by the
TENSIONS HIGH: For more than half a year, students have organized protests around the country, while the Serbian presaident said they are part of a foreign plot About 140,000 protesters rallied in Belgrade, the largest turnout over the past few months, as student-led demonstrations mount pressure on the populist government to call early elections. The rally was one of the largest in more than half a year student-led actions, which began in November last year after the roof of a train station collapsed in the northern city of Novi Sad, killing 16 people — a tragedy widely blamed on entrenched corruption. On Saturday, a sea of protesters filled Belgrade’s largest square and poured into several surrounding streets. The independent protest monitor Archive of Public Gatherings estimated the
Irish-language rap group Kneecap on Saturday gave an impassioned performance for tens of thousands of fans at the Glastonbury Festival despite criticism by British politicians and a terror charge for one of the trio. Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, has been charged under the UK’s Terrorism Act with supporting a proscribed organization for allegedly waving a Hezbollah flag at a concert in London in November last year. The rapper, who was charged under the anglicized version of his name, Liam O’Hanna, is on unconditional bail before a further court hearing in August. “Glastonbury,
RSS