'Kim Watch' Fails to Spot Northbound Mystery Man

BEIJING － Contrary to earlier expectations, a man who reportedly identified himself to Japanese authorities as North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's son, Kim Jong-nam, did not leave for Pyongyang Saturday afternoon on a North Korean airline flight, Chinese sources said.

The sources confirmed that the group, including two women and a boy, did not board the regularly-scheduled 11:30 a.m. Air Koryo flight to Pyongyang. The flight left an hour late. There were other, unconfirmed reports that the group left for Pyongyang by train Friday evening.

North Korea's notification Saturday morning to airport authorities in Beijing that a special charter flight to Pyongyang would be leaving Beijing at 7:50 a.m. only added to the confusion. The charter flight appeared on the airport screen as JS3152 with the "delayed" sign throughout the day and then abruptly canceled.

Some observers now think the group may stay in Beijing for the time being to wait for the media attention over their attempt to enter Japan with forged passports to subside.

Meanwhile, the Japanese Kyodo news service reported Saturday that Japanese authorities received a report of the group's attempt to enter Japan illegally from a British intelligence source, citing a senior diplomat familiar with North Korean affairs.

According to the report, the British source told the Japanese government that the group occasionally traveled to Singapore using Dominican Republic passports and would try to enter Japan between late April and early May. According to Kyodo, the Japanese police urged strong action against the group but was overruled internally.

by You Sang-chul