Japan has deported a man believed to be the eldest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il after he had been detained travelling on a false passport.
The man, who reportedly gave his name as Kim Jong-Nam, left Narita international airport for Beijing on an All Nippon Airways flight. He was due to arrive in the Chinese capital at around 6 a.m. this morning. He flew out with his travelling companions, two women and a boy. One of the women was reported to be his wife, the other a relative and the boy his four-year-old son.
They were all arrested on their arrival at Narita from Singapore on Tuesday, after Kim was found using a false Dominican Republic passport. He claimed he wanted to visit Tokyo Disneyland.
China, the closest ally of North Korea, had agreed to accept the man and his companions in response to a request from the Japanese government, news reports said.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Mr Yasuo Fukuda told reporters that he had been informed of the deportation order from the justice ministry.
"The matter has been disposed of in a solemn manner on the basis of the immigration control law," the top government spokesman said.
The man's forged passport showed that he previously visited Japan last October and December, according to the reports.
The decision to deport the group, instead of prosecuting them, was seen as reflecting Japan's desire not to further strain ties with North Korea after their rapprochement talks bogged down late last year.
The case was the first diplomatic test for Japan's reform-minded new Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who was elected by parliament last week to replace the unpopular Yoshiro Mori.
It was also embarrassing for the North Korean leader. The news of the detentions broke Thursday as he met a top-level European Union delegation in Pyongyang seeking to rekindle the Korean reconciliation process.
"Kim Jong-Il cut short his first meeting with the EU mission. The case might have become a big mess," said Mr Keio Masao Okonogi, a Korea expert and professor at Tokyo's Keio University.
AFP