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Posted By Alicia P.Q.
Wittmeyer Thursday, October 18, 2012
Kim Jong Il's grandson
has a Libyan roommate. They like to talk politics, including the 2011
revolution that overthrew Muammar al-Qaddafi. He grew up isolated in North
Korea, but now has both American and South Korean friends, and hopes that
in the future he'll be able to take a bus down the peninsula to South Korea to
see them. He never met his grandfather; it was something he'd really
hoped to do before the dictator passed away in December of last year.
These insights and
more came out during a recent interview with Kim Han Sol, who is a student at
the UN sponsored United World College in Mostar, Bosnia, on Finnish television.
The interview was conducted by former Finnish Defense Minister Elisabeth
Rehn. It's well worth a watch:
Kim tells Rehn that
his roommate was very supportive of the revolution in Libya:
"It was quite an
interesting experience throughout the the year having a Libyan roommate. And
especially the revolution, when it happened he was really enthusiastic about
it, and he was telling me many stories...how he went home and saw different
Libya....It was really interesting."
He describes how his
mother was from an "ordinary" North Korean family, and how when
he moved to Macau as a child for school, meeting South Koreans was initially
"awkward""
"We had people
from United States, South Korea, and these are countries that we have been
having a lot of conflicts with, a lot of tension. But then we turned out to be
really great friends in the end, and that just sparked a curiosity for me to go
further to the next level."
Kim Han Sol sparked
something of a media frenzy last year when it was reported he
would be attending school in Bosnia. But in the videos he seems well adjusted
and charming. He speaks good, slightly American-accented English, wears stylish
glasses and has two earrings in his left ear.
Kim Han Sol is the son
of Kim Jong Nam, Kim Jong-Il's eldest son, who was reportedly the favorite to
succeed his father but reported fell out of favor, after pushing the boundaries
of what was tolerated from a member of the dynasty. In 2001, he was caught
trying to enter Japan on a fake passport to visit Tokyo Disney, and has denied he has plans to defect.
Kim Han Sol says his
father is not interested in politics, and that when he finished his studies he
hopes to volunteer and do humanitarian work.
