World Tribune.com: Kim Jong-Il goes underground

Kim Jong-Il goes underground

Special to World Tribune.com EAST-ASIA-INTEL.COM Thursday, December 11, 2003

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il talks with the generals at a farm run by the military in October after being out of sight for 40 days, an official news report said. He has not been seen in public since Oct. 31.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il has not been seen in public since Oct. 31, fueling concerns that the reclusive communist leader has gone into hiding.

The last public reference to Kim was on Oct. 30, when the Korean Central Broadcasting Agency reported his meeting with a delegation of visiting Chinese officials.

U.S. intelligence officials said Kim dropped out of sight last spring for several weeks during the military operation in Iraq. Officials at the time said Kim feared the United States might try to conduct a strike against him, coinciding with the Iraq operations.

U.S. security sources said Kim is concerned about increased U.S. accuracy with unmanned air vehicles [UAVs) or drones which delivered targeted attacks with smart bombs and missiles during the Iraq War.

Meanwhile, the Tokyo Shimbun newspaper reported that Kim's eldest son, Kim Chong-Nam might return to North Korea. Quoting a North Korean source in Beijing, the newspaper said the younger Kim was reportedly banished from North Korea following an ill-fated attempt to enter Japan in May 2001. He is currently believed to be in Austria and could return to Pyongyang before the end of the year.

Senior North Korean officials were recently in Austria. Their visit is believed to be connected to preparing for Kim Chong-Nam's return home.

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The source said the son would be appointed to a senior post in the North Korean State Security Department.

The probable return has fueled speculation that the son has reemerged as a possible successor to the 61-year-old Kim Jong-Il.

U.S. officials said North Korean media have not reported or commented on Chong-Nam's possible return.

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