Where are Kim Jong-nam's widow and children?

Kim Han-sol at dormitory of the Le Havre Campus of France’s Sciences Po University in 2013 / Korea Times file

By Ko Dong-hwan

Kim Han-sol, the son of the assassinated older half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, is in Macau, the South Korean spy agency confirmed Wednesday.

The National Intelligence Service said Han-sol, 22, son of Jong-nam, 46, is living in the special administrative region of China. It was uncertain over the past year whether he was on the mainland or in the city after graduating from the Le Havre campus of France’s Sciences Po University.

With Jong-nam’s death, Han-sol is believed to be the last surviving male member carrying the “baekdu” lineage amid the complicated family tree flowing from North Korean state founder Kim Il-sung to Kim Jong-il and to Jong-nam.

Kim Jong-chol visits London’s Royal Albert Hall to watch an Eric Clapton concert in 2015. Tae Yong-ho, deputy North Korean ambassador to London, escorts Kim. / Korea Times file

Jong-nam’s wife, Lee Hye-kyong, and daughter Kim Sol-hui are believed to be living in an apartment building in Taipa, Macau. The skyscraper is close to an international school that Sol-hui attends. But there has been no sign of the family since Jong-nam’s death.

Kim Jong-chol, elder brother of Kim Jong-un, is believed to be out of the battle for the dictatorship and is considered unlikely to become the leader’s imminent target.

Kim Seol-song, 44, younger half-sister of Jong-nam, worked at North Korea’s Workers’ Party but has been under house arrest for some time.