N. Korea leader’s brother says he’s ‘just a symbol’

The older brother of Kim Jong-Un has reportedly told a Japanese newspaper that he believes North Korea’s new leader is likely to be merely a symbol used by ruling elites to maintain their grip on power.

The Tokyo Shimbun, which has interviewed Kim Jong-Nam in the past, said on Thursday that it had received an email from the exiled son of the secretive state’s late strongman in which he opposed the notion of inherited power.

“Anyone with normal thinking would find it difficult to tolerate three generations of hereditary succession,” said the email, which the paper said was sent on January 3.

“I question how a young heir with two years (of training as a successor) would be able to inherit... absolute power,” he said, according to the paper’s Japanese translation of the message.

“It is likely that the existing power elites will succeed my father by keeping the young successor as a symbol.”

The article was bylined Yoji Gomi, who next week publishes a book based on his extensive interviews with Kim Jong-Nam and e-mail exchanges between them.

Kyodo news agency has previously reported that Mr Gomi became acquainted with Kim Jong-Nam after the pair met in Beijing in 2004.

The reporter interviewed Kim in Macao and Beijing last year for a total of around seven hours, the agency said.

Jong-Un was propelled to power by the death of his father, Kim Jong-Il, which was announced on December 19.

His half-brother Jong-Nam has lived in virtual exile, mainly in the Chinese territory of Macau, for many years after falling out of favour with his father.

Two years ago and with his health rapidly deteriorating, Kim Jong-Il moved Jong-Un — believed to be in his late 20s — into the position of designated successor, giving him military posts and raising his profile.