A rare glimpse of Kim Pyong-il

Kim Pyong-il, right, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s half brother, with his son In-kang and his daughter Un-song. The photo was posted recently on the Web site of a small city in Poland. [YONHAP]

For decades most Koreans have been in the dark about Kim Jong-il’s half brother, Kim Pyong-il, and his family. But rare pictures of Kim, 54, and his two children have turned up on the home page of the small Polish city of Narew.
The pictures were spotted by the Daily NK Web site, which tracks Pyongyang politics. The National Intelligence Service confirmed the authenticity of the pictures.
The seldom-seen Kim is the North Korean ambassador to Poland and one picture shows him with his son, Kim In-kang, and his daughter, Kim Un-song. The picture was taken when the family visited Narew. In another photo, his daughter is seen playing the piano for an embassy singing group.
Although an ambassador, Kim has painstakingly avoided public appearances, apparently due to his relationship with North Korea’s Dear Leader, his half brother.
The eldest of the two sons and a daughter that were the result of Kim Il Sung’s second marriage, to Kim Sung-ae, Kim Pyong-il began his sojourn abroad after Kim Jong-il was named his father’s heir at a June 1980 congress of the ruling Worker’s Party.
In 1988, he became ambassador to Hungary and later served in Bulgaria and Finland. He has been in Poland since 1998. Analysts say that he was sent into what is essentially an extended exile after Kim Jong-il consolidated his power and ended any possible challenges.
Kim Pyong-il looks somewhat like his late father and is said to have the same vocal style.
Unlike Kim Jong-il, he has a military background, having served as a colonel in the armed forces.
At one time he was thought to be a possible successor to his half brother, but an official with the Unification Ministry said yesterday that he is barred from going home unless there is a general meeting of all ambassadors, a sign that any ambitions he has are being thwarted.

By Lee Young-jong JoongAng Ilbo/ Brian Lee Staff Writer [africanu@joongang.co.kr]