September 27, 2004
Kim Jong Nam I am
Both the today and Sunday’s print edition of the Asahi carried short pieces about the appearance of a “mystery man” at the Beijing airport on the 25th. The man was spotted by a group of Japanese reporters who were in Beijing covering working level talks between Japan and Korea. When they noticed he resembled the son of a certain well know, bouffant-headed, regional despot, they approached him and asked, “Excuse me, are you Kim Jong Nam?” to which the main replied in fluent Korean, “Yes, I am.”
(Source: Chosun Ilbo)
This is the second time the Dear Leader’s oldest son has been spotted outside North Korea, and his second run in with the Japanese. In May of 2001, Japanese authorities caught him trying to slip into Japan on a fake Dominican Republic passport and sent him packing on an ANA flight to Beijing. (C’mon Kim, Japanese airport security is relatively lax by international standards, but even they aren’t going to mistake you for a native of the Dominican Republic!) He told Japanese authorities at the time that he had come to Japan to visit Tokyo Disneyland.
Kim told reporters that he had been traveling outside North Korea since his expulsion from Japan. After indicating that he came alone and that he planned to stay in a Beijing hotel, he caught a taxi and sped off.
Although some uncertainty remains about the man’s identity, the Asahi quoted one North Korea expert as saying, “Even the moles are in the same place. I think there is no mistake.” The paper also included to photos of Kim, who is now sporting a much suave look than three years ago. (The South Korean Chosun Ilbo has also posted "before and after" photos (see above), or "fat and fatter" if you like, photos on its website, although they are somewhat blurry.)
(Source: Chosun Ilbo)
This is the second time the Dear Leader’s oldest son has been spotted outside North Korea, and his second run in with the Japanese. In May of 2001, Japanese authorities caught him trying to slip into Japan on a fake Dominican Republic passport and sent him packing on an ANA flight to Beijing. (C’mon Kim, Japanese airport security is relatively lax by international standards, but even they aren’t going to mistake you for a native of the Dominican Republic!) He told Japanese authorities at the time that he had come to Japan to visit Tokyo Disneyland.
Kim told reporters that he had been traveling outside North Korea since his expulsion from Japan. After indicating that he came alone and that he planned to stay in a Beijing hotel, he caught a taxi and sped off.
Although some uncertainty remains about the man’s identity, the Asahi quoted one North Korea expert as saying, “Even the moles are in the same place. I think there is no mistake.” The paper also included to photos of Kim, who is now sporting a much suave look than three years ago. (The South Korean Chosun Ilbo has also posted "before and after" photos (see above), or "fat and fatter" if you like, photos on its website, although they are somewhat blurry.)
# posted by Saru : 8:10 PM
