North Korea's reclusive leader Kim Jong-il has taken his former private secretary as his new wife, after his purported former wife died of cancer two years ago, reliable sources said Sunday.
The marital status of Kim, who turned 64 in February this year, has never been officially confirmed, but it has been widely believed three women have been treated as his wives.
"I heard Kim has lived with a woman named Kim Ok, who served as his secretary, as Ko Yong-hi died two years ago," said a South Korean government source privy to information on the North's ruling family.
"She is virtually North Korea's first lady," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Kim Ok, 42, has frequently accompanied the North Korean leader on his inspection visits to army bases and industrial complexes, and sat with him when he met visiting foreign dignitaries, the source said.
The woman also traveled with the leader when he made a secret visit to China in January, received a cordial reception as the North's first lady and exchanged civilities with Chinese leader Hu Jintao, he said.
Kim Ok, who majored in piano at the North's prestigious Pyongyang University of Music and Dance, had served as the leader's private secretary since the early 1980s, another South Korean government source said.
"She is a cute woman rather than a beauty" like the leader's previous wives or live-in women, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "I heard she is very wise and clever."
It's not confirmed whether Kim Ok gave birth to a son, but the sources said her emergence as the leader's new wife is expected to affect the North's power succession struggle to some extent.
Many South Korean and Japanese press reports have said Kim would likely appoint his successor among his three sons born from different mothers. The reports said the three sons and their deputies were engaged in fierce power struggles in recent years, as the eldest son escaped two assassination attempts last year.
Kim Jong-il took over power from his father Kim Il-sung, who died of heart failure at 82 in 1994, in communism's first hereditary power transfer.
It is no secret that Kim Jong-il has engaged in romantic affairs with numerous women, mostly actresses, singers and dancers.
But sources versed in North Korean affairs said Kim only married or lived a long time with three women.
Kim's latest woman was Ko Yong-hi, who died of breast cancer in August 2004. Ko, who had virtually played the role of the North's first lady, reportedly caught Kim's eye while performing with a state dance troupe.
Ko gave birth to two sons -- Jong-chul, 25, and Jong-un, 22.
North Korea watchers have said Jong-chul is the most likely candidate to be anointed by his father as his successor.
Kim Jong-il is also said to have lived with Sung Hae-rim, a former North Korean movie star, who died in Moscow in 2002, for two decades. Kim kept the relationship a secret from his father as the woman was married.
Sung is the mother of Kim Jong-il's eldest son, Jong-nam, 35.
He had long been regarded as the favorite to succeed Kim Jong-il, but he reportedly fell out of his father's favor due to his wayward lifestyle. In 2001, he was caught entering Japan with a forged Dominican passport and told police he wanted to visit Tokyo Disneyland.
While living with Sung, Kim was forced by his father to marry Kim Young-sook, the daughter of a high-level military officer, in the 1970s. They have two daughters, Seol-song, 33 and Chun-song, 31.
Seoul, July 23 (Yonhap News)
N. Korean leader Kim has new wife: sources |
