Kim didn't die on his train, says South Korean spy chief

SOUTH KOREA'S intelligence chief believes that Kim Jong-il did not die on his armoured train, as the official North Korean account of the Dear Leader's death claims.
 
According to The Times, Won Sei Hoon, director of the South's National Intelligence Service (NIS), was reported by Seoul media as saying: "We confirmed through US satellite surveillance photos that Kim's personal train was stationary in Pyongyang [before his death]."
 
"We kept tabs on Kim's whereabouts until Thursday but could not locate him starting Friday. There are signs that he tried to go somewhere [on Saturday morning] but died."
 
This is at odds with the official North Korean version. Kim is said to have died of a heart attack at the age of 69 while travelling on his official train due to "great mental and physical strain" brought on by a "high intensity field inspection".
 
The discrepancy raises the possibility of foul play: the news earlier this year that Kim was preparing to hand power over to his son prompted speculation that there would be a major power struggle behind the throne.
 
More prosaically, says the Times, it could simply suggest the North Korean authorities wanted to massage the truth. Passing away on a tour to meet the workers, despite ill-health, sounded a little more heroic than dying peacefully in his sleep at home.
 
In either case, Won's announcement is an attempt to claw back some credibility after his service was left red-faced when it only learned of Kim's demise via the official North Korean TV announcement on Monday, rather than from its own sources earlier.
 
The NIS also failed last year to warn of two attacks on South Korean troops apparently carried out by North Korean forces – the sinking of a naval ship and the shelling of an island.
 
Perhaps worst of all for Won is the claim that the Chinese had been informed via their ambassador of Kim's death as early as Saturday. ·