Kim Jong-Un's Brother Seen At Eric Clapton Gig
Wearing a leather jacket and shades, Kim Jong-Chul is seen clapping and singing along at the rock legend's show in London.
10:59, Friday 22 May 2015
The brother of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un has been spotted in London after flying in to attend an Eric Clapton gig.
Concert-goers described Kim Jong-Chul enthusiastically clapping and singing along to the hit Cocaine at the end of the 70-year-old rock legend's set.
Mr Kim, wearing a blue T-shirt, black leather jacket and sunglasses was met by a Japanese media scrum as he left the Royal Albert Hall.
According to Japanese broadcaster TBS, he ignored questions about his relationship with his brother and North Korea's political stability.
Kim was filmed without his shades before the gig
Minders shoved their hands in the lenses of at least one camera, while Mr Kim's female companion walked just behind him.
They were accompanied to the gig by North Korea's ambassador to the UK, Hyon Hak Bong, who in March told Sky News' defence correspondent Alistair Bunkall that his country had nuclear weapons and would use them if it felt threatened.
He also called defectors from North Korea "animals" and "human scum", and insisted the country's rulers were "peace-loving people".
The Clapton show is believed to be the first public sighting of 33-year-old Mr Kim since his younger brother took over as North Korea's supreme leader in December 2011.
He was last seen in September 2011 - at another Eric Clapton concert in Singapore, according to South Korean news agency Yonhap.
Kim Jong-Un and Kim Jong-Chul have the same mother - Kim Jong-Huo, who was said to be their father Kim Jong-Il's favourite consort.
According to Kenji Fujimoto, the pseudonym of a sushi chef who spent 13 years cooking for Kim Jong-Il, Kim Jong-Chul was passed over for succeeding his father, who thought he was "no good because he is like a little girl".
Like his brother, Kim Jong-Chul was reportedly educated at an international school in Switzerland.
He is thought to be the best English speaker among members of North Korea's ruling dynasty and is said to have worked in the secretive state's propaganda department.
Last year, a Maltese diplomat told Sky News Kim Jong-Chul had spent time studying in Malta.
It is not known when he was there or what he was studying, although it is believed he was trying to improve his English.
His trip to London came as it emerged that a crackdown on defections has seen the number of North Koreans escaping the repressive country halved since Kim Jong-Un came to power.
