Kim Jong-nam

Kim Jong-nam (, ; 10 May 1971 – 13 February 2017) was the eldest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.

Kim Jong-nam was born on 10 May 1971 in Pyongyang, North Korea, to Song Hye-rim, one of four women known to have had children with Kim Jong Il.

Because Kim Jong Il aimed to keep his affair with Song a secret due to the disapproval of his father Kim Il Sung, he initially kept Jong-nam out of school, instead sending him to live with Song's older sister Song Hye-rang, who tutored him at home.

North Korea Leadership Watch says he left North Korea to visit his grandmother in Moscow, Soviet Union, and spent his childhood at international schools in both Russia and Switzerland until returning to his home country in 1988.

Kim Jong-nam was reported to have had a personality similar to that of his father, and was described by his aunt as being "hot-tempered, sensitive, and gifted in the arts".

From roughly 1994 to 2001, he was considered the heir apparent to his father.

Kim Jong-nam made several clandestine visits to Japan, starting as early as 1995.

In 1998, Kim Jong-nam was appointed to a senior position in the Ministry of Public Security of North Korea, as a future leader.

He was also reported to have been appointed head of the North Korean Computer Committee, in charge of developing an information technology (IT) industry.

His aunt also said in 2000 that he "[did] not wish to succeed his father".

Like Kim Jong Il, he was interested in film: he wrote scripts and short films from a young age.

His father also created a small movie set for him to use.

He was thought to have fallen out of favour after embarrassing the regime in 2001 with a failed attempt to visit Tokyo Disneyland with a false passport, although Kim himself said his loss of favour had been due to advocating reform.

In January 2001, he accompanied his father to Shanghai, where he had talks with Chinese officials on the IT industry.

In May 2001, Kim Jong-nam was arrested in Japan on arrival at Narita International Airport, accompanied by two women and a four-year-old boy identified as his son.

He was travelling on a forged Dominican Passport using a Chinese alias, Pang Xiong.

After being detained, he was deported to China, where he said he was travelling to Japan to visit Tokyo Disneyland.

The incident caused his father to cancel a planned visit to China due to the embarrassment it caused him.

Until the Tokyo incident, Kim Jong-nam was expected to become leader of the country after his father.

Kim Jong-nam was exiled from North Korea c. 2003, becoming an occasional critic of his family's regime.

In February 2003, the Korean People's Army began a propaganda campaign under the slogan "The Respected Mother is the Most Faithful and Loyal Subject to the Dear Leader Comrade Supreme Commander."

This was interpreted as praise of Ko Young-hee, and likely part of a campaign designed to promote Kim Jong-chul or Kim Jong Un, her sons.

Since the loyalty of the army is the foundation of the Kim family's continuing hold on power in North Korea, this was a serious detriment for Kim Jong-nam's prospects.

In late 2003, it was reported that Kim Jong-nam was living in Macau, lending strength to this belief.

Kim Jong Un was left in charge while his father was on a state visit to China.

The Asahi Shimbun reported that Kim Jong-nam, while travelling to see his brother Kim Jong-chul in Munich, survived an assassination attempt at the Budapest Ferihegy International Airport in July 2006.

According to South Korean reports, the Hungarian government protested against the incident to the North Korean embassy in Vienna, requesting there be no recurrence.

It was reported in the South China Morning Post on 1 February 2007, that Kim Jong-nam had been living incognito with his family in Macau, for some three years.

South Korean television and the South China Morning Post reported in 2007 that Kim Jong-nam had a Portuguese passport.

His younger paternal half-brother, Kim Jong Un, was named heir apparent in September 2010.

Outsider observers also believed North Korea's sinking of a South Korean ship in March 2010 was part of Kim Jong Il's attempt to secure succession for the youngest Kim: provoking a security crisis he could use to rally military support behind Kim Jong Un.

Kim Jong-nam's loss of favour was thought to have been caused by the Tokyo incident.

However, Kim Jong-nam himself claimed that he had fallen out of favour due to advocating for reform.

In an email to the editor of the Tokyo Shimbun, Kim Jong-nam wrote that after being educated in Switzerland, he "insisted on reform and market-opening", leading his father to decide that he had turned "into a capitalist".

Kim Jong-nam at this time has also been described as "the closest North Korean ever to have been an international playboy", and gained a reputation for "gambling and drinking and arranging the occasional business deal".

Kim Jong-nam was assassinated in Malaysia on 13 February 2017 with the nerve agent VX.

The Wall Street Journal on 10 June 2019 reported that former US officials stated that Kim Jong-nam had been a CIA source.

He used to be the only member of the Kim family to ever speak directly to media outside of North Korea, until Kim Jong Un took a question from a foreign journalist during the 2019 North Korea–United States Hanoi Summit.

It was believed that Kim Jong-nam had friendly ties to China.

Outside analysts considered him as a possible candidate to replace Kim Jong Un if the North Korean leadership imploded and China, traditionally an ally, sought a replacement leader.