Seoul: A South Korean non-commissioned
officer has been suspended for three months for providing a
fake photo of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's third son, Kim
Jong Un, to a Japanese television station last month, South
Korea's Defense Ministry said on Thursday.
Yonhap News Agency said the 24-year-old staff sergeant,
identified only by his surname Oh, demanded about USD 1,600
for the photo which TV Asahi telecasted on air on June 10,
identifying the man as Kim Jong Un.
"We believe he befriended some Japanese journalists
while staying in Japan for study a few years ago," an
unidentified South Korean army official was quoted by Yonhap
as saying.
"He knew it was a fake photo before delivering it," the
official told Yonhap.
Kim Jong Un has reportedly been chosen to become the heir
to his father, who suffered a stroke last summer, according to
reports.
Hours after the Japanese television station showed the
photo claiming it was Kim Jong Un, Yonhap identified the man
as a 40-year-old South Korean construction worker named Bae
Seok Bum. A spokesman for TV Asahi said the TV station had not
paid for the photo.
Bureau Report
First Published: Thursday, July 23, 2009, 19:29