SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il has put his youngest son in charge of the country’s spy agency as a prelude to handing over control of the communist regime, a news report said today.
Kim visited the headquarters of the State Security Department in March, along with his 26-year-old son, Kim Jong-Un, and told agency leaders to “uphold” his third son as head of the department, the Dong-a Ilbo newspaper reported, citing an unnamed source.
Kim also told department leaders to “safeguard comrade Kim Jong-Un with (your) lives as you did for me in the past,” and gave them five foreign-made cars, each worth about $80,000, as gifts, the mass-market daily said.
Pyongyang’s State Security Department is the backbone of Kim’s harsh rule. It keeps a close watch over government agencies, the military and ordinary people for any signs of dissent. It also engages in spy missions abroad.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters that Mats Foyer, Sweden’s ambassador in North Korea, visited two detained American reporters — Euna Lee and Laura Ling — in Pyongyang on Tuesday. Sweden serves as the U.S. protecting power in North Korea.
Foyer has been in “constant contact” with the North, pressing for access, Kelly said. He said the U.S. was “pursuing many different avenues” to secure their release, but he would not elaborate.
Meanwhile, U.S. defense and counterproliferation officials said Tuesday that a missile test threatened by North Korea is expected to launch short- to medium-range missiles rather than a long-range missile similar to one tested in April. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity.
