The eldest son of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il, Kim Jong-nam, got caught on camera at a five-star hotel in Macau by Japan's TBS television on Friday afternoon.

Kim denied his identity, saying “No” when a TBS reporter asked whether he was Kim Jong-nam. The Japanese reporter then asked Kim’s opinion on the economic sanctions on North Korea, but Kim only answered, “I have nothing to say.” Both spoke in English. The reporter got the same answer when he asked Kim whether he was on vacation. Queried if he was staying in the city’s luxurious Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Kim junior said, “I can’t tell you. My private life.” Kim then grabbed a taxi, named the destination in Chinese and disappeared.

TBS footage of Kim Jong-nam getting into a taxi in Macau./YTN

Despite his denial, comparison with a picture taken at a Japanese airport in 2001 clearly identifies the North Korean leader’s son. When the Japanese reporter approached him, Kim was buying a drink at the hotel. After escaping his questioner, he took an escalator and left the hotel in a leisurely way, smiling. He was alone and wore a pink dress shirt and a sky blue jacket.

(englishnews@chosun.com )