Hoax photo of N. Korean heir-apparent provided by S. Korean soldier: Army

By Sam Kim
SEOUL, July 23 (Yonhap) -- The fake photo thought to have been of North Korean
leader Kim Jong-il's heir-apparent shown by a Japanese television station last
month was provided by a young South Korean non-commissioned officer, an army
official said Tuesday.
The 24-year-old staff sergeant, only identified by his surname Oh, demanded 2
million won (US$1,600) for the photo that TV Asahi said on June 10 showed Kim's
third son, Jong-un, the Army official said.
Jong-un is reportedly the heir-apparent to the ailing 67-year-old North Korean
leader, but information on him remains scarce as the communist regime apparently
exercises tight controls on it.
Hours after the report claimed it showed Jong-un's face for the first time,
Yonhap News Agency identified the photo as that of a 40-year-old South Korean
construction worker named Bae Seok-bum.
TV Asahi retracted its report, saying it had obtained the photo from a source
privy to North Korean affairs. A South Korean Army official said Thursday that
Ssg. Oh has been slapped with a three-month suspension from duty for having
delivered the photo.
"We believe he befriended some Japanese journalists while staying in Japan for
study a few years ago," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"He knew it was a fake photo before delivering it."
Oh was reprieved from a harsher penalty as his act did not constitute breach of
military security guidelines, the official said.
"It was a scam perpetrated at an individual level," he said.
samkim@yna.co.kr
(END)