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| Kim Jong-nam, North Korea's president Kim Jong-un's older brother. |
By Ko Dong-hwan
According to an online community for North Korean dissidents in South Korea, state leader Kim Jong-un's older brother, Kim Jong-nam, played a critical role in the execution of Jang Song-thaek last December, news reports said Tuesday.
The reports, citing the North Korea Intellectuals Solidarity, said Kim Jong-nam betrayed Jang, their uncle and the nation's second-highest ranking official, in exchange for the government consolidating his overseas trading activities.
Kim and Jang had a close relationship; Kim monitored Jang's funds and confidential data, while Jang financially supported Kim's move from Singapore to Malaysia after his father, Kim Jong-il, died in 2011. Kim, locked in a battle with his younger brother Kim Jong-un for the state crown, first set out to China, where he has allegedly been controlling the state's trades and politicking.
When the North Korean government launched a behind-the-curtain investigation on Jang last June, it offered to secure legal activities and waive trades handling overseas capital for Kim in exchange for disclosing intelligence regarding Jang. According to the online community's members, the government's attractive offer persuaded Kim to cooperate with the government, even when he knew that doing so would jeopardize his uncle's life.
The reports said the government communicated with Kim Jong-nam through Ji Jae-ryong, Consulate General of the North Korean Embassy in China, during the investigation. Ji was acknowledged by the state for his help during the investigation.
But Ji, who once managed Jang's closeted funds worth approximately one billion dollars, is also currently plagued by maligning rumors that he escaped the execution sweep last October by divulging intelligence on Jang to the government. Others say he is known among the state's high-ranking officials as a "scoundrel."
