Sushi chef says Kim Jong-Un has 'no plans for war'

Image
AFP Tokyo
Last Updated : May 09 2016 | 3:28 PM IST
A Japanese sushi chef who served Kim Jong-Il claims North Korea's current leader has no intention of waging war with the United States.
The chef, who goes by the pseudonym Kenji Fujimoto, told a Japanese tabloid magazine he was invited to Pyongyang last month for the first time in almost four years, and that Kim Jong-Un himself picked him up at the airport.
"I was surprised when I looked at the driver's seat," Fujimoto was quoted as saying in a piece written under his byline in the weekly Shukan Gendai.
"Field marshall Kim Jong-Un himself was driving, he'd come to check up on me."
Fujimoto, one of the few non-Koreans to have met the young leader, said that he arrived in Pyongyang on April 12 to have dinner with Kim, who greeted him with a hug and asked about feelings in Japan towards the secretive state.
Fujimoto, who is said to carry business cards emblazoned with the words 'Kim Jong-Il's chef', reportedly replied "with blunt honesty: it's terrible. Since the start of the year there have been nuclear and missile tests."
Kim, whose plans to expand North Korea's nuclear arsenal were formally endorsed this week at Pyongyang's first ruling party congress in nearly 40 years, offered a conciliatory response.
"The reason we launch rockets and missiles is the United States," the 33-year-old 'supreme leader' said, according to the report.
"When we begin talks with the Americans, they soon make unacceptable demands with difficult conditions. Although our relations with the United States remain perilous, I have no intention of starting a war," Fujimoto claims Kim added.
Fujimoto, who has a 24-year-old daughter by his Pyongyang-resident North Korean wife, also revealed that Kim had been on a recent drinking binge.
"I emptied 10 bottles a few days ago and my stomach feels a little bad," Kim said at a dinner attended by some 20 senior North Korean officials, according to Fujimoto.
"Although maybe one glass won't do any harm."
Fujimoto, who claims to have been jet-skiing and motorbiking with Kim Jong-Il, lived in Pyongyang in the service of the first family for ten years.
He says he fled the regime during a shopping trip to Japan in 2001, and has since made his living from media appearances, lectures and writings about his days in the isolated country.
Fujimoto only ever appears in public wearing aviator sunglasses and a bandana, precautions he insists are necessary to shield his identity, and says he wears a bulletproof in Japan, fearing for his safety.
*Subscribe to Business Standard digital and get complimentary access to The New York Times

Smart Quarterly

₹900

3 Months

₹300/Month

SAVE 25%

Smart Essential

₹2,700

1 Year

₹225/Month

SAVE 46%
*Complimentary New York Times access for the 2nd year will be given after 12 months

Super Saver

₹3,900

2 Years

₹162/Month

Subscribe

Renews automatically, cancel anytime

Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans

Exclusive premium stories online

  • Over 30 premium stories daily, handpicked by our editors

Complimentary Access to The New York Times

  • News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic

Business Standard Epaper

  • Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share

Curated Newsletters

  • Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox

Market Analysis & Investment Insights

  • In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor

Archives

  • Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997

Ad-free Reading

  • Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements

Seamless Access Across All Devices

  • Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app

More From This Section

First Published: May 09 2016 | 3:28 PM IST

Next Story