1 00:00:04,880 --> 00:00:08,600 Speaker 1: Here's something you wouldn't expect about Kim Jong il. He 2 00:00:08,680 --> 00:00:11,840 Speaker 1: wasn't born on the divine slopes of Mount pet two. 3 00:00:12,760 --> 00:00:17,280 Speaker 1: He wasn't even born in Korea. He spent the first 4 00:00:17,400 --> 00:00:20,200 Speaker 1: four years of his life living in the eastern stretches 5 00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:25,159 Speaker 1: of the Soviet Union, a logging camp in Siberia. To 6 00:00:25,239 --> 00:00:30,080 Speaker 1: be exact. According to Russian birth records, Kim Jong Il's 7 00:00:30,200 --> 00:00:38,239 Speaker 1: name is actually Yuri Irsinovich Kim it was the Korean 8 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:43,000 Speaker 1: Peninsula was occupied and controlled by Japan, and Kim's father, 9 00:00:43,600 --> 00:00:47,360 Speaker 1: the future Supreme Leader, Kim Il sung, was a guerrilla 10 00:00:47,520 --> 00:00:51,040 Speaker 1: freedom fighter, the leader of a rag tag platoon of 11 00:00:51,120 --> 00:00:56,880 Speaker 1: communist soldiers fighting Japanese imperialists. But when World War Two erupted, 12 00:00:57,480 --> 00:01:00,120 Speaker 1: Kim Il sung fled into the Soviet Union with a 13 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:04,440 Speaker 1: female soldier, a dogged fighter who had served as his bodyguard. 14 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:11,280 Speaker 1: Her name was Kim Changshuk. According to people who knew her, 15 00:01:11,800 --> 00:01:15,720 Speaker 1: Chungsuk was a warm hearted, but rugged and fearless woman. 16 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:20,080 Speaker 1: When she was a teenager, her family had been murdered 17 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:25,319 Speaker 1: by Japanese settlers. She had sworn revenge, joined the Korean 18 00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:29,360 Speaker 1: cause and met Kimio sung on the battlefield. She even 19 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:33,600 Speaker 1: saved the man's life from a deadly ambush, and it 20 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:37,479 Speaker 1: was during this time in the early forties, a Tongsuk 21 00:01:37,560 --> 00:01:41,840 Speaker 1: and Kimilsung fell in love, became unofficially married and had 22 00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:47,600 Speaker 1: two boys, Yuri Rsenovich, lovingly nicknamed Urah and his little 23 00:01:47,640 --> 00:01:54,160 Speaker 1: brother Shoulda. In Russia, the children received endless attention and affection, 24 00:01:55,520 --> 00:02:00,960 Speaker 1: but in when Korea was liberated from Japan, the Kim 25 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:05,960 Speaker 1: family returned home. Kim Il sung, who had ingratiated himself 26 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:10,320 Speaker 1: with Soviet leadership, was installed by Joseph Stalin as North 27 00:02:10,440 --> 00:02:14,680 Speaker 1: Korea's chairman. For a young Kim Jong Il and his brother, 28 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:20,799 Speaker 1: leaving Russia was difficult. Their parents became busy and distant. 29 00:02:21,800 --> 00:02:25,440 Speaker 1: Their dad was occupied trying to build a communist utopia, 30 00:02:26,120 --> 00:02:29,839 Speaker 1: and their mother was often away traveling the country as 31 00:02:29,880 --> 00:02:38,600 Speaker 1: his political representative. And then in September, tragedy struck. Kim 32 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:42,640 Speaker 1: Jong Zook was pregnant and Kim Jong Il, just eight 33 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:45,440 Speaker 1: years old, waited in the palace for his mom to 34 00:02:45,440 --> 00:02:51,200 Speaker 1: bring home a baby sister. Hours later, a family member arrived, 35 00:02:51,919 --> 00:02:56,120 Speaker 1: tears streaming down her cheeks. Kim Jong Ille was told 36 00:02:56,120 --> 00:03:01,960 Speaker 1: to prepare instead for a funeral. The baby had been lost, 37 00:03:02,960 --> 00:03:08,880 Speaker 1: and so too had his mother. Kim Jong Ill panicked, 38 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:12,119 Speaker 1: he sprinted out the door in the direction of the hospital. 39 00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:16,080 Speaker 1: Guards swooped in and grabbed him. As an officer lugged 40 00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:19,639 Speaker 1: him back into the house, the little boy began wailing uncontrollably, 41 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:24,200 Speaker 1: calling out for his mother. At the funeral, Kim Jong 42 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:28,720 Speaker 1: Il was inconsolable. He clung to his dead mother's body 43 00:03:28,840 --> 00:03:32,440 Speaker 1: and wept in her arms. When a group of elders 44 00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:36,120 Speaker 1: tried to lead the boy away, his father stopped them, saying, 45 00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:40,920 Speaker 1: tomorrow you will have no mother anymore, and who's embraced 46 00:03:40,960 --> 00:03:45,160 Speaker 1: to cry? Little did the boy know, but the supreme 47 00:03:45,240 --> 00:03:49,720 Speaker 1: leader was already thinking about his wife's replacement. A grieving 48 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:53,440 Speaker 1: Kim Joang Ill would watch with jealousy as his father 49 00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:58,320 Speaker 1: built a new family around a new woman, growing even 50 00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:03,400 Speaker 1: more distant from his eldest on. That's the strange thing 51 00:04:03,520 --> 00:04:06,920 Speaker 1: about the stories of Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Nam. 52 00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:11,960 Speaker 1: The two generations share an eerie parallel. Both, in one 53 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:16,159 Speaker 1: way or another, would lose their mothers and childhood, and 54 00:04:16,279 --> 00:04:19,800 Speaker 1: both would spend the rest of their lives fighting these 55 00:04:19,800 --> 00:04:23,320 Speaker 1: other new families for the love and attention of their father, 56 00:04:23,920 --> 00:04:28,240 Speaker 1: the supreme leader. The result would be a series of 57 00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:33,120 Speaker 1: cruel family games of manipulative in fighting that would do 58 00:04:33,320 --> 00:04:37,160 Speaker 1: much more than alter the dynamic inside the gilded palaces 59 00:04:37,200 --> 00:04:43,200 Speaker 1: of Kung Yang. It would change the course of world history. 60 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:50,640 Speaker 1: My name is even Lee, and in this episode, the 61 00:04:50,680 --> 00:04:55,000 Speaker 1: tale of two generations of Kim's vying for power in 62 00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:59,920 Speaker 1: a world of subterfuge, espionage and deceit, and the mistake 63 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:03,320 Speaker 1: that may have caused Kim jong Nam the crown and 64 00:05:03,520 --> 00:05:05,919 Speaker 1: his life. She takes a gun away, and she says, 65 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:09,080 Speaker 1: you're not getting any stupid ideas. Be a man and 66 00:05:09,160 --> 00:05:12,440 Speaker 1: go forth and lead your country in the East Asia. 67 00:05:12,720 --> 00:05:15,200 Speaker 1: People around the court like to go on and on 68 00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:18,680 Speaker 1: about which branch has what it takes to be the 69 00:05:18,760 --> 00:05:23,120 Speaker 1: leading branch of the family. I think that it was 70 00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:28,279 Speaker 1: due to the mothers that the succession decision was made. 71 00:05:29,520 --> 00:05:41,760 Speaker 1: This is big brother. While Kim Jong Il's mother had 72 00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:45,200 Speaker 1: died in childbirth, Kim Jong Nam's mother, you may remember, 73 00:05:45,800 --> 00:05:50,360 Speaker 1: was still alive. She was exiled to a mental facility 74 00:05:50,440 --> 00:05:55,320 Speaker 1: in Russia, leaving the young Kim Jong Nam effectively motherless 75 00:05:56,080 --> 00:06:00,240 Speaker 1: and the states secret And then in nine a d 76 00:06:00,680 --> 00:06:04,680 Speaker 1: When the boy was nine years old, his father agreed 77 00:06:04,760 --> 00:06:08,760 Speaker 1: to send him to a boarding school abroad. Here's journalists 78 00:06:08,960 --> 00:06:14,159 Speaker 1: and fifield. Kim Jong Nam was living this very abnormal life. 79 00:06:14,240 --> 00:06:16,560 Speaker 1: You know, he didn't go to school in North Korea. 80 00:06:16,760 --> 00:06:21,800 Speaker 1: He was confined to one of these palatial compounds. And 81 00:06:21,920 --> 00:06:24,640 Speaker 1: his grandmother actually said, you know, this is no way 82 00:06:24,640 --> 00:06:27,800 Speaker 1: for a kid to live. So they the first idea 83 00:06:27,880 --> 00:06:30,279 Speaker 1: was to go off to the Soviet Union, to Moscow, 84 00:06:30,880 --> 00:06:34,760 Speaker 1: but Kim Jong Nam was no fan of Russia. Like 85 00:06:34,839 --> 00:06:40,360 Speaker 1: a true spoiled prince, he whined constantly. His biggest complaint 86 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:45,279 Speaker 1: how dirty the Soviet Union's toilets were. So. At the 87 00:06:45,320 --> 00:06:48,400 Speaker 1: behest of his uncle Chang Song Tech, the boy was 88 00:06:48,440 --> 00:06:52,479 Speaker 1: sent to Switzerland. Joan Song Tech had found out that 89 00:06:53,160 --> 00:06:57,960 Speaker 1: lots of celebrities sent their children to the school in Geneva. 90 00:06:59,040 --> 00:07:02,479 Speaker 1: A Taie Prince is Michael Douglas had all gone to 91 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:05,719 Speaker 1: the school in Geneva, so Kim Jong Nam moved to 92 00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:09,560 Speaker 1: Switzerland to attend the International School of Geneva, one of 93 00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:14,800 Speaker 1: the most diverse academies on the planet. The institution overflowed 94 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:18,120 Speaker 1: with the sons and daughters of wealthy dignitaries and diplomats 95 00:07:18,160 --> 00:07:21,480 Speaker 1: from all over the world, and even boasted alumnis such 96 00:07:21,480 --> 00:07:27,480 Speaker 1: as Indira Gandhi. Kim's cousin and playmate Enamo, came with him. 97 00:07:27,520 --> 00:07:31,160 Speaker 1: The two received fake names and fake passports. They were 98 00:07:31,200 --> 00:07:34,840 Speaker 1: given alibis and told everybody they were the children of 99 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:40,080 Speaker 1: diplomats to avoid bumping into nosey South Korean students who 100 00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:44,400 Speaker 1: were usually enrolled in English speaking classes. The two cousins 101 00:07:44,920 --> 00:07:50,360 Speaker 1: two courses in French. It's worth noting they did not 102 00:07:50,480 --> 00:07:55,520 Speaker 1: speak French. One of those nosy South Korean students, by 103 00:07:55,520 --> 00:07:58,960 Speaker 1: the way, happened to be doctors Hung Yun Lee, professor 104 00:07:59,080 --> 00:08:03,400 Speaker 1: at Tufts Universe At many years ago. I enrolled at 105 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:09,920 Speaker 1: the International School of Geneva, Switzerland sometime in September. Not 106 00:08:10,080 --> 00:08:13,400 Speaker 1: only did doctor Lee attend the same school, he attended 107 00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:17,160 Speaker 1: at the same time as Kim Jong Nam. I enrolled 108 00:08:17,280 --> 00:08:20,600 Speaker 1: on the very same day. Kim Jong Nam was three 109 00:08:20,720 --> 00:08:23,920 Speaker 1: years younger than I, so we never were in the 110 00:08:23,960 --> 00:08:28,440 Speaker 1: same classroom. Hardly ever cross path. But the South Korean 111 00:08:28,520 --> 00:08:33,080 Speaker 1: ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva mistook Kim Jong 112 00:08:33,160 --> 00:08:36,880 Speaker 1: Nam as a South Korean student and struck up a 113 00:08:36,920 --> 00:08:41,400 Speaker 1: conversation with Kim jong Nam, and the North Korean princeling said, 114 00:08:41,640 --> 00:08:45,280 Speaker 1: I'm actually from North Korea. To say the least, the 115 00:08:45,360 --> 00:08:48,000 Speaker 1: regime would have its hands full keeping Kim jong Nam 116 00:08:48,080 --> 00:08:53,360 Speaker 1: a secret. North Korea watched the potential successor closely. Even 117 00:08:53,400 --> 00:08:57,080 Speaker 1: his cousin in Am enrolled in the same classes just 118 00:08:57,320 --> 00:08:59,680 Speaker 1: to keep a protective eye on him. Even though she 119 00:08:59,800 --> 00:09:03,480 Speaker 1: was five years older than him, she went to his class, 120 00:09:03,559 --> 00:09:07,360 Speaker 1: she was denied a normal upbringing. She was always five 121 00:09:07,440 --> 00:09:10,679 Speaker 1: years behind the with him. The regime even rented a 122 00:09:10,720 --> 00:09:14,520 Speaker 1: fifth floor apartment across the street to monitor the princeling. 123 00:09:15,320 --> 00:09:18,640 Speaker 1: But constant surveillance couldn't stop the fact that Kim jong 124 00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:23,240 Speaker 1: Nam would be exposed to everything. Europe offered a mixed economy, 125 00:09:23,559 --> 00:09:27,360 Speaker 1: a free press, and a vast expanse of art, culture 126 00:09:27,960 --> 00:09:32,720 Speaker 1: and different ways of thinking. For years, this Western playground 127 00:09:32,760 --> 00:09:36,960 Speaker 1: distracted him from the gossip of Kongyang, namely that his 128 00:09:37,040 --> 00:09:40,520 Speaker 1: father was building a new family with a new step 129 00:09:40,559 --> 00:09:44,839 Speaker 1: mom and two younger half brothers. Instead, Kim jong Nam 130 00:09:44,920 --> 00:09:48,839 Speaker 1: spent his teenage years in blissful ignorance, and as he 131 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:51,800 Speaker 1: hobbed nobbed with the richest and most privileged children, in 132 00:09:51,840 --> 00:09:57,120 Speaker 1: the world. He became something of a snotty playboy. At school, 133 00:09:57,200 --> 00:10:00,400 Speaker 1: Kim jong Nam befriended the children of famous French thing ears. 134 00:10:00,679 --> 00:10:04,000 Speaker 1: He went for joy rides and Mercedes benzes with moneyed 135 00:10:04,040 --> 00:10:08,079 Speaker 1: Arab princes. He let loose on the Riviera with hotel 136 00:10:08,120 --> 00:10:10,800 Speaker 1: heiresses and skied the Alps with kids who had their 137 00:10:10,840 --> 00:10:15,760 Speaker 1: own Swiss bank accounts. He partied and snorted drugs. He 138 00:10:15,840 --> 00:10:18,320 Speaker 1: bought booze with his fake I d and drained the 139 00:10:18,320 --> 00:10:22,720 Speaker 1: bottles by night. He slept with women and lost count 140 00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:28,400 Speaker 1: of how many, And then in it all came crashing 141 00:10:28,960 --> 00:10:35,480 Speaker 1: to an end. Kim Jong Nam turned eighteen and his 142 00:10:35,559 --> 00:10:40,600 Speaker 1: father demanded that he returned to kung Yang. When he arrived, 143 00:10:40,920 --> 00:10:45,600 Speaker 1: Residence Number fifteen was boiling with gossip. Kim Jong Ill 144 00:10:45,760 --> 00:10:50,520 Speaker 1: had children with another woman Uh, and then Kim Jong 145 00:10:50,559 --> 00:10:55,600 Speaker 1: Ill's affections within show at upon that family. To put 146 00:10:55,600 --> 00:10:58,880 Speaker 1: it lightly, the two branches of the family were not 147 00:10:59,200 --> 00:11:03,160 Speaker 1: getting along. This is something that seems to have really 148 00:11:03,760 --> 00:11:07,520 Speaker 1: emotionally Scott Kim jong Nam, and he felt cast aside. 149 00:11:07,960 --> 00:11:13,320 Speaker 1: Residents number fifteen, according to Anna Fifield, seethed with rivalry. 150 00:11:13,400 --> 00:11:16,320 Speaker 1: As she wrote in her book The Great successor quote. 151 00:11:16,640 --> 00:11:20,319 Speaker 1: They were convinced that the other woman was a manipulative 152 00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:23,959 Speaker 1: shrew who was poisoning Kim Jong Ill against them. They 153 00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:27,280 Speaker 1: talked about whether the woman was fat and derided her 154 00:11:27,320 --> 00:11:32,239 Speaker 1: as half jack. They even concocted vicious nicknames for the stepmother, 155 00:11:32,559 --> 00:11:36,000 Speaker 1: calling her punct coal, a slur that means hammer nose, 156 00:11:36,440 --> 00:11:40,439 Speaker 1: but with a twist referencing the gambling game pachinko to 157 00:11:40,640 --> 00:11:46,199 Speaker 1: snipe at her Japanese roots. But insults couldn't heal the hurt. 158 00:11:47,120 --> 00:11:50,080 Speaker 1: When Kim jong Nam was sent to Europe, his branch 159 00:11:50,080 --> 00:11:54,679 Speaker 1: of the family had become an afterthought. Now they felt 160 00:11:54,720 --> 00:12:00,720 Speaker 1: second class, neglected, and the implications were obvious. The situation 161 00:12:00,880 --> 00:12:05,360 Speaker 1: harmed Kim Jong Nam's political future, But for those close 162 00:12:05,440 --> 00:12:10,240 Speaker 1: to the Kim family, this drama wasn't anything unusual. It 163 00:12:10,360 --> 00:12:14,680 Speaker 1: was just a ja vu because decades earlier, when Kim 164 00:12:14,720 --> 00:12:18,800 Speaker 1: Jong Il was a little boy, similar complaints were swirling 165 00:12:18,800 --> 00:12:23,440 Speaker 1: in the palace air. After the death of his mom. 166 00:12:23,520 --> 00:12:26,960 Speaker 1: His dad had come home with a new mistress, and 167 00:12:27,040 --> 00:12:31,199 Speaker 1: with this new woman in the picture, his political future 168 00:12:31,679 --> 00:12:35,840 Speaker 1: had been at risk too. The story of how Kim 169 00:12:35,920 --> 00:12:39,760 Speaker 1: Jong Ill clawed his way to the top when we return. 170 00:12:55,679 --> 00:12:59,520 Speaker 1: Truth be told, Kim jong Il had a tenuous relationship 171 00:12:59,559 --> 00:13:03,640 Speaker 1: with his father long before this other woman stepped in, 172 00:13:04,480 --> 00:13:07,840 Speaker 1: and that's because of a traumatic event that took place 173 00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:11,800 Speaker 1: when Kim jong Il men known as Udah, was just 174 00:13:12,080 --> 00:13:20,520 Speaker 1: a little boy. It's Dah and his little brother Shouldah 175 00:13:20,600 --> 00:13:23,600 Speaker 1: are playing alone near the edge of a pond. Udah 176 00:13:23,679 --> 00:13:29,400 Speaker 1: is around six shouda four. The boys grapple and horseplay 177 00:13:29,440 --> 00:13:33,240 Speaker 1: around the shallows, splashing and dunking each other's heads under 178 00:13:33,280 --> 00:13:36,920 Speaker 1: the surface. Udah lifts himself out of the water, but 179 00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:40,640 Speaker 1: when little Shuda tries to climb out, Udah, the bullying 180 00:13:40,720 --> 00:13:45,720 Speaker 1: big brother, playfully pushes him back in. The boys laugh, 181 00:13:46,480 --> 00:13:49,120 Speaker 1: and then Shouldah tries to get out a second time, 182 00:13:49,920 --> 00:13:52,840 Speaker 1: but Udah shoves him right back into the murky lagoon. 183 00:13:53,760 --> 00:13:56,760 Speaker 1: Udah teases his little brother and continues the cruel game 184 00:13:56,840 --> 00:14:04,079 Speaker 1: again and again and again. Minutes later, the Supreme Leader 185 00:14:04,160 --> 00:14:06,720 Speaker 1: rushes to the pond and finds a young Kim jong 186 00:14:06,800 --> 00:14:10,480 Speaker 1: Il is standing awkwardly at the water's edge. What's the matter? 187 00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:15,080 Speaker 1: What's the matter? He repeats the question over and over. 188 00:14:15,320 --> 00:14:20,240 Speaker 1: The little Kim jong yellen speechless. I'm asking you what 189 00:14:20,320 --> 00:14:22,480 Speaker 1: this is all about. Look at me, Look at me. 190 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:26,320 Speaker 1: Kim jong il just stands there, his face to the ground, 191 00:14:27,280 --> 00:14:32,200 Speaker 1: arrowed in shame. What have you been doing? Just offshore, 192 00:14:33,240 --> 00:14:37,480 Speaker 1: floating in the water is the lifeless body of his 193 00:14:37,560 --> 00:14:44,960 Speaker 1: little brother. Kim Jong Il's official biography makes no mention 194 00:14:45,160 --> 00:14:49,320 Speaker 1: of his dead brother, but documents captured by American soldiers 195 00:14:49,400 --> 00:14:52,040 Speaker 1: after the Korean War show that Kim Il sung was 196 00:14:52,160 --> 00:14:56,040 Speaker 1: so heartbroken that he invited Buddhist monks and a shaman 197 00:14:56,080 --> 00:14:59,960 Speaker 1: to pray at the side of the drowning. According to Defect, 198 00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:02,920 Speaker 1: they're close to the Kim family. Young Kim jong il 199 00:15:02,960 --> 00:15:08,680 Speaker 1: would spend the following years a quote lonely and guilty child, quiet, 200 00:15:09,400 --> 00:15:14,600 Speaker 1: depressed and fearful of what his father thought of him. 201 00:15:14,680 --> 00:15:18,240 Speaker 1: The dual tragedy of losing his brother and mother would 202 00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:21,840 Speaker 1: forever alter Kim Jong il's relationship with his father, who 203 00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:24,720 Speaker 1: had already started a separate family with a new woman 204 00:15:25,400 --> 00:15:30,000 Speaker 1: and new sons. And that's what sparked a competition that 205 00:15:30,080 --> 00:15:35,080 Speaker 1: would reshape the politics of North Korea. You see, during 206 00:15:35,120 --> 00:15:38,680 Speaker 1: the DPR case infancy, Kimo Song was more likely to 207 00:15:38,680 --> 00:15:41,880 Speaker 1: pass power to a fellow comrade rather than his kids. 208 00:15:42,680 --> 00:15:47,000 Speaker 1: The whole concept of hereditary succession was anathema to communist teaching. 209 00:15:47,720 --> 00:15:51,800 Speaker 1: In fact, the North Korean Dictionary of Political Terminologies lambasted 210 00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:57,080 Speaker 1: the practice quote hereditary succession is a reactionary custom of 211 00:15:57,120 --> 00:16:01,960 Speaker 1: exploitative societies. Originally a product of slave societies, it was 212 00:16:02,080 --> 00:16:05,680 Speaker 1: later adopted by feudal lords as a means to perpetuate 213 00:16:05,760 --> 00:16:10,080 Speaker 1: dictatorial rule. But then at some point Kim il sung 214 00:16:10,960 --> 00:16:15,560 Speaker 1: changed his mind. By the mid nineties sixties, the Supreme 215 00:16:15,680 --> 00:16:19,520 Speaker 1: Leader made it clear that power would remain in the family. 216 00:16:20,840 --> 00:16:23,960 Speaker 1: Kim Jong il, of course, was the first and eldest son. 217 00:16:24,480 --> 00:16:28,440 Speaker 1: By Confucian tradition, the throne should have been his, but 218 00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:34,040 Speaker 1: his spot wasn't guaranteed. Kim il sung clearly preferred his 219 00:16:34,200 --> 00:16:38,720 Speaker 1: two youngest sons over his firstborn. Kim Jong Ille felt 220 00:16:38,720 --> 00:16:42,000 Speaker 1: the odds were stacked against him, and since his brother 221 00:16:42,080 --> 00:16:45,360 Speaker 1: and mother were dead, he didn't have many advocates in 222 00:16:45,400 --> 00:16:51,680 Speaker 1: the regime, so he deployed a plan. At the time, 223 00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:56,920 Speaker 1: there was no true single party rule, yet multiple communist 224 00:16:56,960 --> 00:17:04,800 Speaker 1: groups were jockeying for influence. Lumble Over Kimilsung knew that 225 00:17:04,840 --> 00:17:08,359 Speaker 1: the stability of the country and his pursuit of power 226 00:17:08,760 --> 00:17:13,679 Speaker 1: depended on consolidating their support. He gave impassioned speeches like 227 00:17:13,720 --> 00:17:19,720 Speaker 1: the one you're hearing now to rally groups behind his leadership. 228 00:17:20,840 --> 00:17:25,520 Speaker 1: Here's Michael Madden Kim Il sung. When he first became 229 00:17:25,640 --> 00:17:28,720 Speaker 1: leader in forty five, he had to contend with different 230 00:17:28,760 --> 00:17:33,000 Speaker 1: factions of nationalist Koreans. Kim Il sung doesn't have ultimate power, 231 00:17:33,440 --> 00:17:37,679 Speaker 1: so his whole pursuit from to nifty is basically to 232 00:17:37,760 --> 00:17:42,320 Speaker 1: dominate the North Korean political system. Kim Il sung strategy 233 00:17:42,440 --> 00:17:46,040 Speaker 1: centered on a combination of hard and soft power by 234 00:17:46,040 --> 00:17:52,200 Speaker 1: both cracking skulls and poisoning minds. When he wasn't eliminating 235 00:17:52,240 --> 00:17:56,360 Speaker 1: traitors through bloodshed, the leader was focusing his attention on 236 00:17:56,480 --> 00:18:01,480 Speaker 1: winning people's trust. He enlisted advisor to boost his reputation 237 00:18:02,080 --> 00:18:06,720 Speaker 1: as a person whose wisdom, knowledge, and power or unmatched. 238 00:18:07,800 --> 00:18:11,119 Speaker 1: All of a sudden, peddling propaganda became a way to 239 00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:15,560 Speaker 1: win favor with the leader. A palatial arms race ensued. 240 00:18:16,280 --> 00:18:19,639 Speaker 1: Who could praise and idolize the supreme leader the most. 241 00:18:21,119 --> 00:18:24,840 Speaker 1: This was Kim Jong Il's wheelhouse. As a lover of 242 00:18:24,960 --> 00:18:29,359 Speaker 1: theater and movies, he was a master of artifice. He 243 00:18:29,480 --> 00:18:33,040 Speaker 1: turned out films and news articles depicting his father not 244 00:18:33,240 --> 00:18:36,520 Speaker 1: just as a wise and compassionate strong man, but as 245 00:18:36,560 --> 00:18:40,440 Speaker 1: all knowing. Kim Jong Il, in other words, would help 246 00:18:40,560 --> 00:18:46,440 Speaker 1: transform his father into a living god. As part of this, 247 00:18:47,080 --> 00:18:50,680 Speaker 1: Kim Jong Ill made everybody in North Korea where lapel 248 00:18:50,760 --> 00:18:55,400 Speaker 1: pins of his father's face. He built dozens of mansions 249 00:18:55,440 --> 00:18:58,840 Speaker 1: for his dad, and funneled millions of dollars into erecting 250 00:18:58,920 --> 00:19:03,359 Speaker 1: statues of his likeness. And so Kim Il Sung the 251 00:19:03,400 --> 00:19:08,679 Speaker 1: man became Kim Il Sung, the legend, and the leader 252 00:19:09,280 --> 00:19:16,120 Speaker 1: relished the attention. As more people praised him, the more 253 00:19:16,280 --> 00:19:22,000 Speaker 1: the personality called grew into a cartoonish mythology. The history 254 00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:27,080 Speaker 1: books literally changed. Kim Il Sung transformed from a meager 255 00:19:27,160 --> 00:19:30,720 Speaker 1: guerrilla fighter to the beating heart of the resistance movement, 256 00:19:31,320 --> 00:19:35,960 Speaker 1: the man who had singlehandedly liberated the country, and people 257 00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:41,679 Speaker 1: believed it. In nine, journalist Bradley Martin visited North Korea 258 00:19:41,760 --> 00:19:45,840 Speaker 1: for the World Table Tennis Championships. He realized that North 259 00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:51,240 Speaker 1: Korea operated with a peculiar piety. When I first went there, 260 00:19:51,800 --> 00:19:55,840 Speaker 1: it clearly was a religious state that the people worshiped 261 00:19:55,920 --> 00:20:00,439 Speaker 1: Kimmel Song, and in his opinion, it was sincere the 262 00:20:00,560 --> 00:20:05,800 Speaker 1: worship was not purely a matter of their submitting to government, 263 00:20:05,920 --> 00:20:11,440 Speaker 1: but they wanted to worship him. They loved him, and 264 00:20:11,480 --> 00:20:15,440 Speaker 1: I detected very little falsity in the expressions of praise, 265 00:20:15,640 --> 00:20:20,520 Speaker 1: and it was very much a religious state. Kim Jong 266 00:20:20,560 --> 00:20:24,360 Speaker 1: Il's propaganda efforts would change the face of North Korea, 267 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:27,320 Speaker 1: and they put him back in his father's good graces, 268 00:20:28,400 --> 00:20:31,720 Speaker 1: but it still didn't guarantee that he'd inherit the throne. 269 00:20:32,560 --> 00:20:36,320 Speaker 1: The one thing standing in Kim Jong Il's way was 270 00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:40,840 Speaker 1: his new stepmother, who was positioning her firstborn son, named 271 00:20:40,920 --> 00:20:45,439 Speaker 1: Kim Chang Ill as a successor. In East Asia, people 272 00:20:45,480 --> 00:20:48,080 Speaker 1: around the court like to go on and on about 273 00:20:48,200 --> 00:20:51,560 Speaker 1: which branch has what it takes to be the leading 274 00:20:51,560 --> 00:20:55,919 Speaker 1: branch of the family. That was pretty much as it 275 00:20:56,080 --> 00:21:00,159 Speaker 1: was with Kim Jong il and his brother Kim Young. 276 00:21:02,920 --> 00:21:07,040 Speaker 1: Kim Kang yell was a terrifying opponent. He was the 277 00:21:07,119 --> 00:21:10,280 Speaker 1: spitting image of their father. He had a much more 278 00:21:10,320 --> 00:21:14,600 Speaker 1: affectionate relationship with him too, and no amount of flattering 279 00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:18,399 Speaker 1: publicity could replace the fact that Kim Il sung spent 280 00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:24,000 Speaker 1: his nights sleeping next to Kangiel's mother. Propaganda was no 281 00:21:24,119 --> 00:21:28,399 Speaker 1: match for pillow talk. Kim Joang Ill realized that in 282 00:21:28,520 --> 00:21:31,160 Speaker 1: order to become the front runner, he'd have to do 283 00:21:31,240 --> 00:21:34,200 Speaker 1: more than boost his father into the image of a god. 284 00:21:35,240 --> 00:21:39,720 Speaker 1: To destroy his little brother's prospects, he'd have to eliminate 285 00:21:39,800 --> 00:21:51,840 Speaker 1: the power of the other woman. Two decades later, Kim 286 00:21:51,880 --> 00:21:56,840 Speaker 1: jong Nam would face a similar challenge with his stepmother. 287 00:21:57,960 --> 00:22:02,160 Speaker 1: When he returned from Europe. The dynamics of palace life 288 00:22:02,640 --> 00:22:09,280 Speaker 1: had changed. His father once so loving hardly visited Residence 289 00:22:09,320 --> 00:22:12,680 Speaker 1: Number fifteen anymore. It was as if the Chong Nam 290 00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:16,640 Speaker 1: side of the family didn't exist. Kim Jong Il's other 291 00:22:16,760 --> 00:22:20,639 Speaker 1: family included a five year old son, Kim Jong Un, 292 00:22:21,320 --> 00:22:24,919 Speaker 1: and their father devoted all of his free time and 293 00:22:25,119 --> 00:22:29,560 Speaker 1: energy to this little boy. But what really shocked and 294 00:22:29,600 --> 00:22:33,000 Speaker 1: dismayed Kim jong Nam's branch of the family was how 295 00:22:33,160 --> 00:22:37,720 Speaker 1: brazen his father's new mistress, Ko Yuan Ki was acting. 296 00:22:37,800 --> 00:22:40,240 Speaker 1: Up until this point, Kim Jong Il's wives were to 297 00:22:40,320 --> 00:22:43,280 Speaker 1: run the household. They were not to be involved in politics. 298 00:22:43,760 --> 00:22:47,440 Speaker 1: He changes his mind about that with Koyeng Hui. As 299 00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:54,920 Speaker 1: Michael Madden explains, Couse shamelessly inserted herself into politics. Kyeong 300 00:22:54,960 --> 00:22:57,199 Speaker 1: Whui is allowed to talk to the political age that 301 00:22:57,240 --> 00:23:00,000 Speaker 1: come by the house to brief Kim Jong Ill. That's 302 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:03,200 Speaker 1: where Koyonghui starts to attain a degree of political importance. 303 00:23:03,600 --> 00:23:06,320 Speaker 1: She's a close steward a selection of Kim Jong Ill's 304 00:23:06,359 --> 00:23:10,080 Speaker 1: top guys. The Kim jong Nam side of the family, 305 00:23:10,520 --> 00:23:14,560 Speaker 1: koyeng He was just manipulating the man. She was nothing 306 00:23:14,600 --> 00:23:18,560 Speaker 1: but a gold digger, an illegitimate concubine, unworthy of the 307 00:23:18,600 --> 00:23:22,760 Speaker 1: title of wife, and she was part Japanese North Koreas 308 00:23:22,760 --> 00:23:27,840 Speaker 1: sworn enemy. And so to Kim jong Nam's family, her 309 00:23:27,960 --> 00:23:33,639 Speaker 1: kids weren't successors. They were illegitimate children and thus illegitimate heirs. 310 00:23:34,480 --> 00:23:38,280 Speaker 1: But like the generation before him, Kim Jong Nam's mother 311 00:23:38,600 --> 00:23:43,040 Speaker 1: was out of the picture. Kim Jong Nam's mother had 312 00:23:43,040 --> 00:23:47,000 Speaker 1: basically had a mental breakdown and gone to Moscow and 313 00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:49,800 Speaker 1: stayed abroad for almost the rest of her life, and 314 00:23:49,840 --> 00:23:54,720 Speaker 1: so she was literally out of the inner circle. She 315 00:23:54,800 --> 00:23:58,280 Speaker 1: was far away. She didn't have much influence. Koyeong He, 316 00:23:58,760 --> 00:24:03,199 Speaker 1: on the other hand, Kim Jong UN's mother, she was 317 00:24:03,600 --> 00:24:06,480 Speaker 1: very much an in a circle. She was at Kim 318 00:24:06,560 --> 00:24:11,320 Speaker 1: Jong Il's side. She was making decisions, she was advising him, 319 00:24:11,440 --> 00:24:15,880 Speaker 1: and she had been trying to position both of her 320 00:24:15,960 --> 00:24:20,399 Speaker 1: sons as the heir apparent to Kim jong il, so 321 00:24:20,480 --> 00:24:24,200 Speaker 1: she did things like making sure that they both got 322 00:24:24,200 --> 00:24:27,239 Speaker 1: the military uniforms and were called little generals just like 323 00:24:27,359 --> 00:24:30,640 Speaker 1: Kim jong nam was. She made sure that they went 324 00:24:30,720 --> 00:24:35,000 Speaker 1: into like the North Korean equivalent of West Point, so 325 00:24:35,160 --> 00:24:39,600 Speaker 1: that they had that military training and they could justify 326 00:24:39,880 --> 00:24:44,200 Speaker 1: leading a country that had a military first policy. She 327 00:24:44,320 --> 00:24:48,280 Speaker 1: was actively lobbying for them behind the scenes. I think 328 00:24:48,520 --> 00:24:53,600 Speaker 1: that it was due to the mothers that this succession 329 00:24:53,760 --> 00:24:58,360 Speaker 1: decision was made, and Koeng he knew a finger too 330 00:24:58,600 --> 00:25:04,040 Speaker 1: about getting on the leaders good side. In fact, she 331 00:25:04,240 --> 00:25:07,360 Speaker 1: became one of the most important people in the regime. 332 00:25:08,440 --> 00:25:11,480 Speaker 1: At that point, Kim jong il had taken the reins 333 00:25:11,480 --> 00:25:15,440 Speaker 1: of decision making, with his father remaining a mere figurehead. 334 00:25:16,320 --> 00:25:19,240 Speaker 1: But one day, Kim jong il was riding a horse 335 00:25:19,680 --> 00:25:23,720 Speaker 1: when he fell off and suffered a severe head injury. 336 00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:26,199 Speaker 1: It was so bad that the regime flew in a 337 00:25:26,280 --> 00:25:32,480 Speaker 1: neurologist from France. According to Michael Madden, with her husband incapacitated, 338 00:25:33,040 --> 00:25:36,040 Speaker 1: Koyong he stepped in during that point. During that point, 339 00:25:36,320 --> 00:25:39,480 Speaker 1: Young we basically starts helping him with paperwork that's coming 340 00:25:39,480 --> 00:25:43,720 Speaker 1: into the house, and so for a whole year koyong 341 00:25:43,800 --> 00:25:48,320 Speaker 1: He acts as Kim jong Il's top advisor. And then 342 00:25:48,640 --> 00:25:52,600 Speaker 1: when Kim jong Il officially become supreme leader, she saves 343 00:25:52,600 --> 00:25:58,280 Speaker 1: her husband's life a second time. Goes by a room 344 00:25:58,280 --> 00:26:00,160 Speaker 1: in one of the houses and sees Kim jong Il 345 00:26:00,200 --> 00:26:02,800 Speaker 1: cleaning his gun. Kim jong Il is going to shoot 346 00:26:02,880 --> 00:26:05,600 Speaker 1: himself in the head and commit suicide. She takes a 347 00:26:05,640 --> 00:26:09,120 Speaker 1: gun away, and she says, you're not getting any stupid ideas. 348 00:26:09,400 --> 00:26:12,320 Speaker 1: Be a man and go forth and lead the country. 349 00:26:12,400 --> 00:26:14,520 Speaker 1: So this is where Kim jong UN's mother is sort 350 00:26:14,560 --> 00:26:17,920 Speaker 1: of endeared to the leader, where she becomes a political 351 00:26:17,960 --> 00:26:22,240 Speaker 1: force and a political influence. This is where Kim jong 352 00:26:22,320 --> 00:26:26,880 Speaker 1: Nam's path diverges from his father's. Kim Jong Il prevented 353 00:26:26,920 --> 00:26:31,240 Speaker 1: his step family from stealing the successorship by well sucking 354 00:26:31,320 --> 00:26:35,440 Speaker 1: up to his father. It was filial piety on steroids, 355 00:26:36,080 --> 00:26:42,120 Speaker 1: But when Kim jong Nam's stepmother interfered, he rebelled. Rather 356 00:26:42,160 --> 00:26:46,200 Speaker 1: than elevate his father's image, he escaped his royal compound 357 00:26:46,560 --> 00:26:49,840 Speaker 1: and drank his way across kong Yang. There was a 358 00:26:49,920 --> 00:26:52,520 Speaker 1: period of time when Kim jong nam was in his 359 00:26:52,600 --> 00:26:56,240 Speaker 1: twenties and was essentially kind of locked in this gilded 360 00:26:56,359 --> 00:26:58,760 Speaker 1: cage and Pyongyang. You know, he was this young guy 361 00:26:59,400 --> 00:27:02,840 Speaker 1: wanting to be you know, socializing and having fun and things, 362 00:27:02,840 --> 00:27:05,040 Speaker 1: and he wasn't able to do that in Pyongyang. So 363 00:27:05,960 --> 00:27:09,919 Speaker 1: him and his cousin Nam Mock would go out in 364 00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:12,879 Speaker 1: one of the regime mercedes, you know, at nighttime, go 365 00:27:13,040 --> 00:27:15,719 Speaker 1: joy riding around the place and kind of burn off 366 00:27:15,760 --> 00:27:20,520 Speaker 1: a little steam, and words spread fast. Keng Yang's elite 367 00:27:20,560 --> 00:27:24,719 Speaker 1: complained that Kim jong nam was a belligerent and obnoxious drunk. 368 00:27:25,200 --> 00:27:29,040 Speaker 1: He made people bow when he entered a room. One time, 369 00:27:29,359 --> 00:27:33,320 Speaker 1: the drunken prince entered a hotel lobby, pulled out a pistol, 370 00:27:33,840 --> 00:27:37,800 Speaker 1: and littered the ceiling with bullet holes, all because somebody 371 00:27:37,840 --> 00:27:42,560 Speaker 1: had taken his parking space. Their speculation that these stories 372 00:27:42,560 --> 00:27:47,160 Speaker 1: aren't actually true, but in kiang Yang that didn't matter. 373 00:27:48,119 --> 00:27:51,760 Speaker 1: These rumors were circulating and they were making Kim Jong 374 00:27:51,800 --> 00:27:56,560 Speaker 1: ill look bad. So when he found out he went dessert. 375 00:27:56,960 --> 00:28:00,800 Speaker 1: Kim Jong Il's was extremely angry about this um and 376 00:28:00,880 --> 00:28:03,879 Speaker 1: basically put them on the house arresed uh in their 377 00:28:04,440 --> 00:28:08,280 Speaker 1: compound in Pyongyang. He denied food to them. They had 378 00:28:08,320 --> 00:28:10,119 Speaker 1: to live on what they had, and you know, they 379 00:28:10,119 --> 00:28:12,639 Speaker 1: were really cut off and punished as a result of this. 380 00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:15,920 Speaker 1: Kim Jong Nam's father even threatened to send his son 381 00:28:16,119 --> 00:28:20,520 Speaker 1: and extended family to a labor camp. But nobody in 382 00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:24,919 Speaker 1: residence Number fifteen blamed the young prince. They blamed his stepmother. 383 00:28:25,640 --> 00:28:30,040 Speaker 1: According to Chong Nam's cousin Enamo quote, the other woman's 384 00:28:30,080 --> 00:28:35,360 Speaker 1: fingerprints were all over this. There is a suggestion, yeah 385 00:28:35,359 --> 00:28:38,760 Speaker 1: that it was Kim Jong's mother who took off Kim 386 00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:41,640 Speaker 1: jong Il and tried to make them look bad. Gossip 387 00:28:41,680 --> 00:28:44,440 Speaker 1: spread that it was actually the stepmother who had snitched 388 00:28:44,480 --> 00:28:48,560 Speaker 1: on Chong Nam. As Fifield writes in her book, Koyong 389 00:28:48,640 --> 00:28:52,280 Speaker 1: he had quote encouraged Kim Jong Il to allow his 390 00:28:52,360 --> 00:28:55,120 Speaker 1: oldest son more freedom, then rat it on the young 391 00:28:55,160 --> 00:28:59,520 Speaker 1: man when he enjoyed that freedom. The family was convinced 392 00:28:59,600 --> 00:29:04,040 Speaker 1: that this other woman would do anything to tarnish the 393 00:29:04,080 --> 00:29:09,960 Speaker 1: reputation of the man competing with her sons. In his 394 00:29:10,080 --> 00:29:13,600 Speaker 1: mid twenties, Kim jong Nam did clean up his act 395 00:29:13,720 --> 00:29:17,960 Speaker 1: and began joining his father on official summits, even accompanying 396 00:29:18,040 --> 00:29:22,920 Speaker 1: him on a trip to Mount pet two. He began 397 00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:26,800 Speaker 1: studying economics, a sign that he was destined for big 398 00:29:26,840 --> 00:29:31,440 Speaker 1: things and was given a military post. Here's Bradley Martin. 399 00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:37,040 Speaker 1: When Kim jong Nam was twenty four, his father presented 400 00:29:37,160 --> 00:29:42,520 Speaker 1: him the general's uniform. Everybody started calling him general. That 401 00:29:42,600 --> 00:29:45,600 Speaker 1: seems to me a pretty good indication that he was 402 00:29:45,680 --> 00:29:49,680 Speaker 1: at least being thought of as the successor. And at 403 00:29:49,680 --> 00:29:52,920 Speaker 1: the same time, Kim jong Nam was awarded the freedom 404 00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:57,240 Speaker 1: to travel beyond the palace walls. He adventured to Japan 405 00:29:57,520 --> 00:30:01,560 Speaker 1: and Beijing, where some suggests he indulged in women and 406 00:30:01,560 --> 00:30:07,120 Speaker 1: illicit activities as well as official business. Everywhere he went, 407 00:30:07,480 --> 00:30:10,800 Speaker 1: he traveled with a fake passport under a fake name. 408 00:30:13,200 --> 00:30:16,440 Speaker 1: Things were looking up. Kim jong Nam was elected as 409 00:30:16,480 --> 00:30:19,880 Speaker 1: a delegate to North Korea's legislature. He even got to 410 00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:24,240 Speaker 1: flex his muscles as a computer was He was active 411 00:30:24,240 --> 00:30:26,800 Speaker 1: in getting the Korean Computer Center started up and in 412 00:30:26,840 --> 00:30:30,000 Speaker 1: the import of computers, and he had a position which 413 00:30:30,040 --> 00:30:33,880 Speaker 1: is now called the Ministry of Social Security. Those are 414 00:30:33,880 --> 00:30:36,200 Speaker 1: pretty high end positions as far as the North Korean 415 00:30:36,200 --> 00:30:40,040 Speaker 1: regime of that day. This latter position at the State 416 00:30:40,160 --> 00:30:44,360 Speaker 1: Security Ministry was an important one. Kim jong Nam had 417 00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:48,440 Speaker 1: the tough job of handling defectors and refugees, and it 418 00:30:48,480 --> 00:30:52,200 Speaker 1: gave him an opportunity to show his soft side. There 419 00:30:52,800 --> 00:30:56,920 Speaker 1: there was an incident around where hundreds of North Koreans 420 00:30:56,920 --> 00:30:59,800 Speaker 1: had fled into China to try to find food, which 421 00:30:59,840 --> 00:31:03,680 Speaker 1: was highly legal. These people were all detained and then 422 00:31:03,720 --> 00:31:06,960 Speaker 1: one day they're all turned loose. They all got pardoned, 423 00:31:07,480 --> 00:31:10,600 Speaker 1: and they were told to thank Comrade Kim jong Nam 424 00:31:10,640 --> 00:31:14,000 Speaker 1: because Comrade Kim jong Nam had exercised his benevolence on 425 00:31:14,040 --> 00:31:18,520 Speaker 1: their behalf and forgiven these hungry people. In the words 426 00:31:18,600 --> 00:31:22,200 Speaker 1: of a human rights activists, the official party line was 427 00:31:22,960 --> 00:31:27,360 Speaker 1: you owe all of this to Kim jong Nam. By 428 00:31:27,360 --> 00:31:30,880 Speaker 1: the millennium, it seemed that Kim jong Nam had survived 429 00:31:30,920 --> 00:31:34,960 Speaker 1: his roaring twenties, had survived the manipulations of his stepmother. 430 00:31:35,560 --> 00:31:37,800 Speaker 1: He was building a name for himself in the regime. 431 00:31:40,240 --> 00:31:47,480 Speaker 1: And then in two thousand and one this happened Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland, 432 00:31:47,840 --> 00:31:51,800 Speaker 1: taking his sons to Disneyland. Kim jong Nam got caught 433 00:31:52,960 --> 00:32:15,960 Speaker 1: going to Disneyland. Y we'll get back to Mickey Mouse later. 434 00:32:16,720 --> 00:32:20,080 Speaker 1: The very fact that Kim jong Nam's political prospects ever 435 00:32:20,160 --> 00:32:24,520 Speaker 1: survived the nineties, despite his gun coding beer guzzling, sex 436 00:32:24,640 --> 00:32:30,080 Speaker 1: loving reputation is remarkable because that's exactly what helped bring 437 00:32:30,120 --> 00:32:34,880 Speaker 1: down Kim Jong Il's half brother, Kim Kangyell. Remember that rivalry. 438 00:32:35,880 --> 00:32:39,920 Speaker 1: In the nineteen seventies, Kan Yell was steadily climbing the ladder. 439 00:32:40,640 --> 00:32:43,880 Speaker 1: He entered the bodyguard division of the Supreme Guard Command, 440 00:32:44,280 --> 00:32:48,920 Speaker 1: graduated from Kim Millsung University, was promoted to colonel and 441 00:32:49,040 --> 00:32:53,840 Speaker 1: named vice head of the Strategic Department of Bodyguards. All 442 00:32:53,880 --> 00:32:57,520 Speaker 1: signs pointed to Kim kangy Ill as a Supreme Leader's favorite. 443 00:32:58,360 --> 00:33:01,200 Speaker 1: It helped that his mother was all around to whisper 444 00:33:01,480 --> 00:33:05,640 Speaker 1: encouraging words into Kim Il Sung's ear. But there was 445 00:33:05,800 --> 00:33:10,640 Speaker 1: one problem. Kim Kang Ill was the life of the party. 446 00:33:11,640 --> 00:33:15,480 Speaker 1: He drank, danced, and caroused with officers in the State 447 00:33:15,560 --> 00:33:19,280 Speaker 1: Security Department and with big wigs in the bodyguard units. 448 00:33:19,960 --> 00:33:25,040 Speaker 1: He lived for elaborate gifts, engraved watches, and free drinks. 449 00:33:26,400 --> 00:33:30,000 Speaker 1: Little did he know Big Father Kim Jong Il was 450 00:33:30,080 --> 00:33:34,520 Speaker 1: spying on him. One day at a party, a group 451 00:33:34,560 --> 00:33:39,040 Speaker 1: of bodyguards started drunkenly praising the young potential air chanting 452 00:33:39,800 --> 00:33:53,680 Speaker 1: live man. This was a dumb mistake in a country 453 00:33:53,680 --> 00:33:56,880 Speaker 1: where Kim il sung was a living god. Only one 454 00:33:57,000 --> 00:34:03,120 Speaker 1: person deserved a live long chant. This was pure, unadulterated blasphemy. 455 00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:08,400 Speaker 1: Words soon reached Kim jong Il as the state propaganda master. 456 00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:11,839 Speaker 1: He knew these chants sounded like somebody trying to chip 457 00:34:11,840 --> 00:34:15,560 Speaker 1: away at the supreme leaders allegiances. Kim Jong Il was 458 00:34:16,120 --> 00:34:20,200 Speaker 1: a better in fighter than Kim kyong yo, so he 459 00:34:20,680 --> 00:34:24,160 Speaker 1: got some dirt on Kim kyong yo and got the 460 00:34:24,160 --> 00:34:28,800 Speaker 1: word through his father that Kim Yongyo was arrating around 461 00:34:28,840 --> 00:34:33,239 Speaker 1: as if he were the successor designate, as if he 462 00:34:33,280 --> 00:34:38,960 Speaker 1: were a big shot. Kim il Sung was outraged. Kyongyo 463 00:34:39,200 --> 00:34:44,000 Speaker 1: was quickly demoted. He went off and became a diplomat 464 00:34:44,200 --> 00:34:48,040 Speaker 1: in Europe for his old career, and so Kim kang 465 00:34:48,080 --> 00:34:52,480 Speaker 1: Ill was shipped off an embassy overseas. For a member 466 00:34:52,520 --> 00:34:55,239 Speaker 1: of the royal family, it was like being put out 467 00:34:55,239 --> 00:34:58,719 Speaker 1: to pasture. Kim kang Ill would spend the rest of 468 00:34:58,760 --> 00:35:02,680 Speaker 1: his life living under constant surveillance. Kim Jong Ille was 469 00:35:02,719 --> 00:35:04,880 Speaker 1: happy to have his half brother out of the picture, 470 00:35:05,760 --> 00:35:09,839 Speaker 1: but al staying matt nuisance wasn't enough. He was hell 471 00:35:09,920 --> 00:35:14,280 Speaker 1: bent on weakening his stepmother's power too. Just to be safe, 472 00:35:15,360 --> 00:35:20,400 Speaker 1: so he exploited one of his father's greatest weaknesses. The 473 00:35:20,440 --> 00:35:25,200 Speaker 1: Supreme Leader was a notorious flirt, and his son knew 474 00:35:25,320 --> 00:35:28,120 Speaker 1: he could drive a wedge into their relationship by simply 475 00:35:28,160 --> 00:35:32,280 Speaker 1: introducing his dad to new women, ladies who could shower 476 00:35:32,360 --> 00:35:39,160 Speaker 1: him with attention and pleasure. The scheme weren't. The marriage 477 00:35:39,160 --> 00:35:43,399 Speaker 1: between his father and his stepmother frosted over. With Kim 478 00:35:43,440 --> 00:35:48,719 Speaker 1: Il sung's attention elsewhere, the woman's influence waned. Kim Jong 479 00:35:48,800 --> 00:35:53,400 Speaker 1: Ille won a battle of attrition. Soon he was announced 480 00:35:53,560 --> 00:35:58,440 Speaker 1: the successor. He celebrated by sticking his stepmother's nose in 481 00:35:58,480 --> 00:36:04,920 Speaker 1: it In she was forced to publicly read an embarrassing 482 00:36:05,040 --> 00:36:09,160 Speaker 1: speech praising Kim Jong Il's dead mother. The stepmom was 483 00:36:09,239 --> 00:36:14,440 Speaker 1: compelled to call her quote an imperishable communist revolutionary fighter 484 00:36:14,520 --> 00:36:19,560 Speaker 1: and outstanding woman activists. She also had to call her 485 00:36:19,600 --> 00:36:23,400 Speaker 1: one of the three generals of Mount Peto and the 486 00:36:23,480 --> 00:36:29,560 Speaker 1: biggest insult the mother of the nation. Soon, the stepmother's 487 00:36:29,600 --> 00:36:34,560 Speaker 1: relationship with Kim Il Song completely dissolved. Six years later, 488 00:36:35,200 --> 00:36:39,520 Speaker 1: she was placed under house arrest. By the late nineteen eighties, 489 00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:44,120 Speaker 1: as Kim Jong il amassed more power, the woman who 490 00:36:44,120 --> 00:36:48,280 Speaker 1: had tried to cut him down was nowhere to be seen, 491 00:36:50,880 --> 00:36:53,879 Speaker 1: but the same could not be said for Kim jong 492 00:36:54,000 --> 00:37:05,279 Speaker 1: nam stepmother. On May one, two thousand and one, a 493 00:37:05,360 --> 00:37:09,480 Speaker 1: plane flying out of Singapore touchdown at Nadita International Airport 494 00:37:09,719 --> 00:37:13,960 Speaker 1: outside of Tokyo, Japan. Kim jong Nam, then just nine 495 00:37:14,080 --> 00:37:17,480 Speaker 1: years old, arguably near the height of his political cloud, 496 00:37:17,920 --> 00:37:21,440 Speaker 1: stepped off the plane with his family, two women and 497 00:37:21,480 --> 00:37:25,320 Speaker 1: a little four year old boy. As the family stood 498 00:37:25,320 --> 00:37:30,239 Speaker 1: in line for immigration, security officials approached, they asked to 499 00:37:30,239 --> 00:37:35,719 Speaker 1: inspect Kim jong Nam's passport. Like the rest of the 500 00:37:35,800 --> 00:37:39,279 Speaker 1: royal family, the document was fake. It said he was 501 00:37:39,320 --> 00:37:42,359 Speaker 1: from the Dominican Republic and listed his name as Pang 502 00:37:42,480 --> 00:37:47,160 Speaker 1: Yung Chinese for fat Bear. Officials led Kim jong Nam 503 00:37:47,200 --> 00:37:52,160 Speaker 1: into a room for questioning. At first, Chong Nam stonewalled 504 00:37:52,200 --> 00:37:57,120 Speaker 1: the investigators, speaking a mix of Japanese and English. An 505 00:37:57,160 --> 00:38:00,920 Speaker 1: hour past before he dropped the bombshell that he was 506 00:38:00,960 --> 00:38:05,719 Speaker 1: the son of North Korea's dictator, thought Kim Joda. He 507 00:38:05,840 --> 00:38:08,120 Speaker 1: explained that he had come to take his young son 508 00:38:08,200 --> 00:38:12,920 Speaker 1: to Tokyo Disneyland. He showed them his passport, again, displaying 509 00:38:12,960 --> 00:38:17,160 Speaker 1: stamps proving that he had entered Japan multiple times without trouble, 510 00:38:18,280 --> 00:38:22,920 Speaker 1: but the questioning continued. Over the next seventy two hours. 511 00:38:23,520 --> 00:38:25,680 Speaker 1: Kim jong nam and his family would be kept at 512 00:38:25,680 --> 00:38:32,440 Speaker 1: an immigration detention center. Word got out fast and journalists 513 00:38:32,719 --> 00:38:38,880 Speaker 1: flocked to the airport. Meanwhile, and Kongyang official scramble to 514 00:38:38,960 --> 00:38:43,360 Speaker 1: deny the news. The regime, according to Hongyun Lee, was 515 00:38:43,400 --> 00:38:49,720 Speaker 1: growing embarrassed. Why is that embarrassing because North Korea rails 516 00:38:49,800 --> 00:38:55,640 Speaker 1: against the evils of capitalism, materialism, Western pop culture and 517 00:38:55,719 --> 00:39:01,880 Speaker 1: Disneyland nicely and captures all of those quality. After three days, 518 00:39:02,360 --> 00:39:05,719 Speaker 1: Kim jong nam and his family were deported, but not 519 00:39:05,880 --> 00:39:09,799 Speaker 1: before journalists snapped photos of North Korean royalty making the 520 00:39:09,880 --> 00:39:13,600 Speaker 1: walk of shame onto an airplane. When Kim Jong Nam 521 00:39:13,640 --> 00:39:18,640 Speaker 1: returned home, his father was outraged. He disinvited his son 522 00:39:18,760 --> 00:39:22,400 Speaker 1: from attending a special economics meeting with the Chinese, and 523 00:39:22,480 --> 00:39:25,080 Speaker 1: he'd never be invited to a high level event again. 524 00:39:26,239 --> 00:39:30,280 Speaker 1: Two years later, the North Korean People's Army Publishing Company 525 00:39:30,320 --> 00:39:34,680 Speaker 1: released an article entitled The Respected Mother is the most 526 00:39:34,880 --> 00:39:39,520 Speaker 1: faithful and loyal subject to the Dear Leader, Comrade Supreme Commander. 527 00:39:40,600 --> 00:39:43,319 Speaker 1: The story was designed to deify the mother of the 528 00:39:43,400 --> 00:39:46,800 Speaker 1: future successor in the same way that Kim jong il's 529 00:39:46,920 --> 00:39:50,440 Speaker 1: late mother had been celebrated. But the subject of the 530 00:39:50,560 --> 00:39:54,680 Speaker 1: article was not Kim jong nam's mother. It was Koyong he, 531 00:39:55,440 --> 00:40:01,320 Speaker 1: the mother of Kim jong Un. To this day, rumors 532 00:40:01,320 --> 00:40:04,360 Speaker 1: swirl that Kim jong un was, in fact just the 533 00:40:04,400 --> 00:40:09,000 Speaker 1: beneficiary of his mother's dirty tricks. There was South Korean 534 00:40:09,040 --> 00:40:11,799 Speaker 1: chitta chatta that it was actually Kim jong UN's mother 535 00:40:11,960 --> 00:40:16,360 Speaker 1: who leaked the details about the Disneyland Tokyo trip to 536 00:40:16,480 --> 00:40:20,000 Speaker 1: the Japanese press in an effort to actively embarrass Kim 537 00:40:20,040 --> 00:40:23,000 Speaker 1: jong nam. Did Kim jong UN's mother tip off the 538 00:40:23,080 --> 00:40:27,800 Speaker 1: Japanese about Kim jong Nam's travel plans to Tokyo, nobody 539 00:40:27,880 --> 00:40:32,280 Speaker 1: is certain, but with Kim jong Nam disgraced an international 540 00:40:32,360 --> 00:40:36,400 Speaker 1: laughing stock, the events certainly helped push her sons to 541 00:40:36,480 --> 00:40:38,719 Speaker 1: the front of the line. I came away with the 542 00:40:38,760 --> 00:40:41,880 Speaker 1: impression that it was because of her efforts to promote 543 00:40:41,920 --> 00:40:45,520 Speaker 1: her sons that Kim jong Un had risen to the top. 544 00:40:46,280 --> 00:40:50,160 Speaker 1: Kim jong Il won the battle against his stepmother, Kim 545 00:40:50,239 --> 00:40:59,080 Speaker 1: jong Nam did not next time on big brother. Kim 546 00:40:59,160 --> 00:41:02,520 Speaker 1: jong Nam walk a tight rope with his father's favor 547 00:41:03,040 --> 00:41:12,560 Speaker 1: After putting the regimes carefully protected image in peril. Big 548 00:41:12,600 --> 00:41:15,000 Speaker 1: Brother is a production of School of Humans and I 549 00:41:15,080 --> 00:41:19,760 Speaker 1: Heart Radio and hosted by me Eden Lane. Lucas. Riley 550 00:41:19,880 --> 00:41:23,680 Speaker 1: is our writer, co director and associate producer. Amelia Brock 551 00:41:23,880 --> 00:41:28,120 Speaker 1: is our senior producer, co director and editor. Executive producers 552 00:41:28,200 --> 00:41:32,560 Speaker 1: are Virginia Prescott, Brandon Barr, L. C. Crowley, and Jason English. 553 00:41:33,040 --> 00:41:37,240 Speaker 1: Our fact checker is Aaron Blakemore Music composed by Jason 554 00:41:37,280 --> 00:41:42,000 Speaker 1: Todd Shannon and Tunewalders. Original score mixed by Vic Stafford. 555 00:41:42,440 --> 00:41:45,520 Speaker 1: Our opening song is Walt's Number two from the Second 556 00:41:45,560 --> 00:41:50,000 Speaker 1: Suite for Jazz Orchestra by Dmitri Shostakovich, as performed by 557 00:41:50,000 --> 00:41:55,799 Speaker 1: the Ukraine National Symphony Orchestra, licensed from Naxos Records and G. Shermer, Inc. 558 00:41:56,239 --> 00:41:59,760 Speaker 1: The North Korean National Anthem is licensed from Warner Chapel Production. 559 00:41:59,840 --> 00:42:04,240 Speaker 1: Muse Sick audio editing by Jesse nice Swanger sound design 560 00:42:04,320 --> 00:42:07,680 Speaker 1: and mixed by Harper W. Harris. Special sound credit to 561 00:42:07,760 --> 00:42:11,239 Speaker 1: Kuama to a Free Sound dot Org. Audio correction by 562 00:42:11,320 --> 00:42:16,640 Speaker 1: Josh Fisher. Voice acting by Mark Chung, June Yune, Mike Coscarelli, 563 00:42:17,000 --> 00:42:21,120 Speaker 1: Sean McKee, Daniel Kim, Udy Nam and Judy Alice Lee. 564 00:42:22,000 --> 00:42:26,000 Speaker 1: Special thanks to Notic Kazu and Hanako Goto, Ryan Murdoch 565 00:42:26,080 --> 00:42:31,399 Speaker 1: and Will Pearson. Sound licensed from Critical Past. If you're 566 00:42:31,480 --> 00:42:34,080 Speaker 1: enjoying the podcast, help us get the word out by 567 00:42:34,160 --> 00:42:38,200 Speaker 1: leaving a rating in your favorite podcast app. Until next time, 568 00:42:38,680 --> 00:42:44,240 Speaker 1: I'm Even Lee School of Humans