[Excerpt: Long seen as his 62-year-old father's heir apparent, Kim Jong-nam's star is thought to have waned after he was caught trying to sneak into Japan on a false passport in 2001....Although a thick veil conceals the doings of the North's ruling dynasty, Kim Jong-il -- who succeeded his father and state founder Kim Il-sung in 1994 -- is believed to have had children with at least three wives....Korea watchers say the older Kim now appears to favour Swiss-educated Kim Jong-chul, who is in his 20s.] _http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=HUBKHT3QOKLKGCRBAELCFEY ?type=worldNews&storyID=640967_ (http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=HUBKHT3QOKLKGCRBAELCFEY?type=worldNews&storyID=640967) N.Korean leader's son escapes death plot Sun Dec 19, 2004 02:08 PM GMT
SEOUL (Reuters) - Austrian security forces foiled an attempt to assassinate a son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il during a European trip in November, Yonhap News is reporting, but Austrian authorities are denying the incident. The report of the plot against Kim Jong-nam came amid persistent rumours of internal political strife in the reclusive communist state and within the nation's first family itself. Citing a source familiar with North Korean affairs, the South Korean news agency said the failed plot had been planned by North Koreans favouring other of Kim Jong-il's sons as his eventual successor. "Kim ran into an attempt to assassinate him during his visit to Europe in mid-November, but the Austrian intelligence agency had received a tip in advance and protected him," Yonhap quoted the source as saying on Sunday. "The attempt was made by anti-Kim (Jong-nam) groups in North Korea." Austria's Interior Ministry confirmed Kim Jong-nam was in Vienna for two days about two weeks ago and said he was guarded during his stay by state anti-terrorism agents, but added this was routine for foreign dignitaries. "There were no incidents. We are not aware of anything like this reported plot," spokesman Rudolf Gollia said. South Korea's National Intelligence Service could not confirm the report but said Seoul's government was checking it. In November, global financial markets were swept by rumours that Kim Jong-il had been assassinated or overthrown. At the same time, diplomats and officials were reported as saying that some of Kim's portraits had been removed from public places. The North's official KCNA news agency later denied this. Long seen as his 62-year-old father's heir apparent, Kim Jong-nam's star is thought to have waned after he was caught trying to sneak into Japan on a false passport in 2001. Although a thick veil conceals the doings of the North's ruling dynasty, Kim Jong-il -- who succeeded his father and state founder Kim Il-sung in 1994 -- is believed to have had children with at least three wives. Korea watchers say the older Kim now appears to favour Swiss-educated Kim Jong-chul, who is in his 20s. While isolated, impoverished Pyongyang introduced market reforms in mid-2002, many of its people rely on foreign aid and energy shortages mean that its industry barely works. The North is also in a standoff with regional powers over its nuclear aims. It is under growing pressure from the United States, Russia, China, Japan and South Korea to rejoin stalled six-nation talks aimed at ending its atomic weapons ambitions. © Reuters 2004. All Rights Reserved. enditem [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> $4.98 domain names from Yahoo!. Register anything. http://us.click.yahoo.com/Q7_YsB/neXJAA/yQLSAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
