KIN JONG-NAM AND CHINA

CHINA 'PROTECTING KIM JONG-NAM'

Kim Jong-nam, the oldest son of North Korea's late leader, is being protected by China as a fallback option if the regime of his half-brother, Kim Jong-un, collapses.

Julian Ryall

The Telegraph, January 24, 2011

The elder Kim, who lives in exile in Beijing and Macao, said in interviews for a book released on January 20 that he feels "suffocated" in the Chinese capital because he is never alone.

"If there is trouble anywhere near him, he said that suddenly a number of people appear around him," said Yoji Gomi, a journalist and author of 'My Father, Kim Jong-il, and I: Kim Jong-nam's Exclusive Confession'.

"Even when nothing is happening, he feels their presence," Gomi added. "He said he does not know if he is being protected or monitored, but it is always like that."

It appears that China is taking care of him for its own aims, he added.

"Having the son of the former leader of a neighbouring country under their protection could be a political card that the Chinese could use at some time in the future," he said.

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