Kim Jong-nam, eldest son of Kim Jong-il, describes succession as ‘a joke’ and predicts the regime will collapse in new book
Jonathan Watts and Tania Branigan, The Guardian
Kim Jong-un with military leaders
Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of Kim Jong-il, says of his half-brother and the new leader of North Korea: ‘Kim Jong-un is still just a nominal figure.
The eldest son of North Korea’s late leader Kim Jong-il has predicted the regime would soon fail, with or without reforms, according to a new book that the author says is based on emails and interviews with Kim Jong-nam.
The book says that Kim Jong-nam – who has never met the new leader, his half-brother Kim Jong-un – described the dynastic succession as “a joke to the outside world”, and said even his father had originally opposed the hereditary transfer of power.
“The Kim Jong-un regime will not last long,” Kim Jong-nam is said to have written, forecasting a power struggle. “Without reforms, North Korea will collapse, and when such changes take place, the regime will collapse.”
