Acting Out

Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, appeared in Beijing on Sunday. Immigration officials at Shoudu Airport in Beijing said that Kim Jong-nam was included on a list of VIPs who arrived in the Chinese capital that day.

Kim, wearing a cap, sunglasses, and blue jeans, was first spotted in the afternoon by Japanese television crews at the airport. He stopped briefly in front of a hotel in Beijing to answer reporters’ questions.

“I have nothing to do with the six-party talks or the ongoing talks regarding the U.S. financial sanctions on North Korea. I came here for a personal reason,” Kim said.  [link]

I question the timing.  It’s rather hard for me to think that this guy had any official role when he keeps doing things this obvious, but since when have these people behaved like normal, rational people?  I suppose it’s possible he was cultivating a contact on the North Korean delegation, or trying to give that appearance, but I doubt it.