By Todd Crowell
TOKYO
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s half-brother, Kim Jong-
Yoji Gomi, a journalist for the Tokyo Shimbun newspaper and author of a collection of interviews with Kim Jong-
A chance meeting between Gomi and Kim Jong-
Kim Jong-
What he saw compared very unfavorably with what he knew in Europe and he became vocal, through his dealings with Gomi and others, about the need to reform North Korea’s economy and even introduce democracy.
Holding such views probably is the reason why he was not chosen to succeed his father Kim Jong-il, Gomi told journalists at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club in Tokyo.
In Japan, Kim Jong-
Although the incident was very embarrassing for Pyongyang, Gomi said he did not believe that Kim Jong-
He had also gained a reputation as a womanizer and gambler, spending hours in casinos in Macau, where he had made his home. However, despite the playboy lifestyle, Gomi said Kim Jong-
Gomi lost contact with Kim Jong-
The Japanese journalist did not try to speculate on who might be behind Kim Jong-
Gomi said he did not get the impression that Kim Jong-