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news
worldnews
asia
northkorea
8061038
-----
# North Korea 'planned to attack exiled son of Kim Jong-il'
## Aides loyal to the North Korea's heir apparent, Kim Jong-un planned to
attack the exiled eldest son of the Dear Leader Kim Jong-il last year in
retaliation for his off-message comments about the need for reform in the
Stalinist dictatorship, it has been reported.
![Kim Jong-il's sons, Kim Jong-nam (left) and the younger brother, Kim Jong-
un][1]
Kim Jong-il's sons Kim Jong-nam (left) and the younger brother, Kim Jong-un
Photo: AFP/GETTY IMAGES
By Peter Foster in Beijing 12:07PM BST 13 Oct 2010
However the attack on Kim Jong-nam, the 39-year-old brother of Kim Jong-un was
foiled after China warned them not to attack Jong-nam on its soil, a South
Korean official told the leading Korean newspaper the Chosun Ilbo.
Kim Jong-un's aides tried "to do something to Jong-nam, who has a loose tongue
abroad," the official said, but added that the plot had been firmly scotched
by China.
The plan to move against Jong-nam, a portly father-of-two who lives in self-
imposed exile in Beijing and Macau, was allegedly fuelled by rumours that
Jong-nam might be employed as a Chinese puppet ruler in the event of a regime
collapse in Pyongyang.
The paper added that Jong-nam has close ties with China's network of
"princelings", the coterie of sons and daughters of senior Chinese officials
who have powerful business interests and family political connections in
China.
In the 1990s Jong-nam appeared to be on track to succeed his father after
being made head of foreign counter-intelligence, but fell spectacularly from
grace in 2001 after he was caught trying to enter Japan on a forged passport
for a trip to Tokyo Disneyland.
## Related Articles
* [Kim Jong-il's 'wayward' son objects to succession][2]
12 Oct 2010
* [North Korea military parade][3]
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10 Oct 2010
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10 Oct 2010
Since then Jong-nam has lead a fairly "ordinary" life with his wife and two
children, flitting between the gambling hub of Macau and Beijing where he
maintains a second property on a reported £500,000-a-year allowance.
Jong-nam has periodically been happy to give interviews to the Japanese and
South Korean media, often speaking with a frankness and informality that is
not in step with secretive regime.
Last weekend Jong-nam gave another television interview in Beijing in which he
made clear that he [**had no plans to return to North Korea**][6], but was
happy to help his younger half-brother "from abroad".
However in the same interview, with Japan's Asahi Television, Jong-Nam also
made critical comments, saying that he was "opposed" to the idea of hereditary
succession in his homeland and hinting at the need for economic reforms to
raise living standards in the bankrupt state where millions live below the
breadline.
However with the succession now apparently secure in the grasp of 27-year-old
Kim Jong-un, the threat of a simmering sibling-rivalry spilling over into open
warfare appears to have receded, analysts said.
Kim Yong-hyun, a North Korea expert at Seoul's Dongguk University, said he
took Jong-nam's comments as an attempt by the regime to send a signal that
there was no internal friction over the transfer of power.
"Jong-nam is also saying he will continue to stay abroad," said Kim, "The
interview indicates there is no room for him to play in North Korea's current
power structure."
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/8061038/North-Korea-
planned-to-attack-exiled-son-of-Kim-Jong-il.html
Telegraph
## [North Korea][12]
* ### [News »][13]
* ### [World News »][14]
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In news
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### [Inside North Korea - exclusive][25]
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