NK’s heir apparent fathered daughter last year: source

BEIJING (Yonhap) -- The youngest son and heir apparent of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il appears to have fathered a daughter last year with his reported wife, an informed source here said Wednesday.

Kim Jong-un, believed to be in his late 20s, has cemented his status as leader-in-waiting since he made his public debut as a four-star general and senior official in the North's communist party in September last year.

It is not known exactly when Jong-un's daughter was born, but a South Korean online newspaper reported this week on rumors that the heir apparent had married a woman in her 20s last year.

About the same time Jong-un became a father, the second son of North Korean leader, Jong-chol, also fathered a son, the source said on condition of anonymity.

"I learned that Jong-un and Jong-chol fathered a daughter and a son (respectively) last year," the source said.

Jong-chol, believed to be 31, is one of the three known sons of the North's leader, along with the first son, Jong-nam.

The second son fell out of favor for being "effeminate," according to a Japanese chef who once worked for the Kim family in Pyongyang. The eldest son also fell out of contention after being caught trying to enter Japan on a fake passport to visit Tokyo's Disneyland.

Jong-chol, known to be a big fan of British guitarist Eric Clapton, was spotted at a Clapton concert in Singapore on Feb. 14 this year, two days before his father's birthday.

At the concert, the second son was seen with a young woman who some media reports speculated was his 24-year-old sister, Kim Yo-jong.

However, the source said the woman was likely to be Jong-chol's wife.

"To my knowledge, Kim Jong-chol's trip to Singapore was for his wife, shortly before she gave birth," the source said.

North Korea has imported a range of baby products such as clothes and infant milk formula for the two newborns from France and Germany, according to the source. (Yonhap)