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Spy Intercept Casts Light on Power Struggle in N.Korea
An East Asian intelligence agency has successfully tapped into frequent calls made by Kim Jong-il's oldest son Kim Jong-nam from Beijing to the North Korean leader's younger sister Kim Kyung-hee in Pyongyang, the Sankei Shimbun reported Monday.In the calls, Kim Jong-nam complains that he was detained in Japan because of then incompetence of public security officials in the North, according to the Japanese daily. In May 2001, Kim Jong-nam attempted to enter Japan on a forged passport but was unmasked and detained and later deported. Kim Kyung-hee also complains about the misrule of the Kim Jong-il regime, who ordered the demotion of her husband Chang Song-taek from his position as department head in the ruling Korean Workers Party. The two reportedly have occasional drunken conversations that last more than an hour. The paper said they appear to have joined forces with some success, with the restoration of Chang Song-taek confirmed at the beginning of the year. Competition to succeed Kim Jong-il has as a result heated up between the eldest Kim Jong-nam, Kim Jong-chul, the son of the leadersÂ’ wife Ko Young-hee who died the year before last, and the third son Kim Jong-woon. With their future riding heavily on the outcome of the power struggle, military and party officials have split into three factions supporting one of the candidates, the Sankei says. This may be the reason the North Korean leader has told his circle he will not be naming a successor until his 70th birthday and vowed in his birthday address on Feb. 16 to continue working even into his 80s and 90s. Posted by: Steve 2006-05-10 |
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