Kim Jong-il's Arab Protegee Turns Up in Beijing

An Arab woman in her 20s whom former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is said to have treated like his own daughter appeared at a North Korean investor blitz in Beijing on Wednesday.

According to a diplomatic source in Beijing, Jindallae Saphariny attended the blitz for the North's Hwanggumpyong and Wihwa Island development projects and the Rajin-Sonbong special economic zones.

The source said Saphariny took the floor and pleaded for help for the modestly named Jindallae Fund, which she said aims to help North Korean children in return for the love she received from Kim Jong-il.

According to the fund’s website, Saphariny's father was the Palestinian Ambassador to North Korea from 1982 to 1992. Kim Jong-il helped the Sapharinys by sending fertility experts when they had trouble having a baby. When they did have a girl, Kim Jong-il suggested the name Jindallae, the Korean for Azalea.