BBC Thursday, 3 May, 2001, 16:46 GMT 17:46 UK

'Kim Jong-il son' detained in Japan

Little is known about Kim Jong-il's family A man identifying himself as the son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has been arrested trying to enter Japan on a false passport.

The man told Japanese police that he was Kim Jong-nam, eldest son of Kim Jong-il, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported.

He arrived at Tokyo's Narita International Airport from Singapore on a Japanese Airlines flight on Thursday, travelling with two women in their 30s and a four-year-old boy.

The Japanese authorities have not so far confirmed their identities, but Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi summoned an emergency meeting of foreign ministry officials to discuss the matter.

Asked what the Japanese authorities would do next, Mr Koizumi said: "We will decide carefully."

The man was detained at the airport, carrying a fake Dominican Republic passport. He said he wanted to visit Disneyland.

Police took him into custody with his travelling companions - believed to be members of his family who were also travelling with false papers - when he arrived in Japan at about 3pm local time (0600GMT).

Heir apparent

As his father's eldest son, Kim Jong-nam is considered a likely heir to the North Korean leader, and the Japanese will want to handle the incident discretely, our Tokyo correspondent says.

Japan has no diplomatic relations with North Korea and has been alarmed by Korean missile tests in the past several years.

If Kim Jong-il and his party are expelled, as is expected, they are likely to be sent to China, which has links with North Korea.

Little is known about the family of Kim Jong-il, but South Korean sources say he has three children by three different women.

Kim Jong-nam, the eldest, is believed to have been born in 1971 to Sung Hae Rim.

Ms Sung, his mother, was reported to have defected to the West in 1996, but South Korean intelligence sources denied the report.

More recent reports suggest she is in Moscow, receiving treatment for depression.

The North Korean leader's official wife is Kim Young Sook, the mother of Mr Kim's only daughter, Kim Sul Song.

Travel difficulties

Kim Yong-nam spent part of his childhood in Geneva and Moscow, and is thought to be a computer expert.

He is reported to have travelled to Japan twice last year.

But correspondents say it is not easy for North Koreans to travel the world freely.

Pyongyang only has diplomatic relations with a handful of Western countries, so North Koreans may have little option but to use forged passports and make their journeys clandestinely.

Experts say that North Korea is a known source of forged passports and counterfeit dollars.

The man thought to be Kim Jong-nam reportedly told immigration officials that he had paid $2,000 for each passport.

-- Anonymous, May 03, 2001