Sunday Times 2
Is this why Kim Jong-Un ousted his uncle?
The man who holds the secrets of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un’s finances was reported last night to be in hiding in China after fleeing for his life from Kim’s rule. The aide was responsible for managing the funds of Kim’s recently-ousted uncle Jang Song Thaek, and in turn is believed to have intimate knowledge of the 32-year-old leader’s finances.
Two other aides to Jang were reportedly executed in recent months for corruption. It is believed the firing squad deaths prompted the unnamed defector to flee to China and make contact with the South Korean embassy in Beijing.
The defection was reported today by South Korean media who said its agents were holding the aide in a secret location in China.
Cable news network YTN said the man managed funds for ‘uncle Jang’, whose marriage to Kim’s aunt and proximinity to the leader of two years made him one of the most powerful men in North Korea. YTN said the aide’s defection might have led to the sacking of Kim’s uncle from his senior post in the North Korean leadership.
The man not only had knowledge of the uncle’s finances, but also those of Kim Jong-Un and his late father, former leader Kim Jong-Il. North Korean watchers said if the reported defection was confirmed, it would be the first time in many years that a significant insider had managed to flee.
The Kim family is feared throughout the country of 25million, where the current Kim, his father and grandfather Kim Il-Sung, have ruled with an iron fist. The family has shown its ruthlessness in protecting its privacy with a series of executions or banishment to labour camps, so a defection by a top aide would be regarded as a disaster.
The fleeing man will need extreme protection for the rest of his life if he succeeds in gaining asylum in South Korea – North Korean agents will have made him a number one target for assassination. A spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Hong Lei, said: ‘We have noted the report but do not understand the situation.’
However, Beijing is a close ally of Pyongyang and rarely allows anyone fleeing from North Korea to move on to a third country. YTN said the aide fled to China some time in late September or early October and the ‘highly important catch’ would have been given immediate protection.
However, he still has to be moved from China to South Korea, but the South’s agents have become experts at carrying out successful human smuggling operations. Initially, said the cable news network, the aide had tried to flee from China to Laos, a route used by other defectors, but his attempt was blocked by Chinese agents.
According to YTN, it is not only South Korea which wants to sit down with the aide and listen to all he can tell them about the finances – and other matters – of Kim Jong-Un. The U.S. has also asked for custody of him – or at the very least access to debrief him.
© Daily Mail, London