NKorean who shopped for dictators breaks his silence after 16 years under cover in Austria
By APThursday, March 4, 2010
NKorean who shopped for dictators goes public
VIENNA — A highly decorated North Korean colonel who spent two decades going on European shopping sprees for his country’s rulers says the late dictator Kim Il Sung lived in luxury and pampered himself.
Kim Jong Ryul, who spent 16 years under cover in Austria, says he witnessed how the dictator drove expensive cars and gorged on delicacies as the hungry masses outside his palaces in North Korea struggled to survive.
The colonel also describes how Kim and his son and successor Kim Jong Il spent millions on Western goods ranging from fire trucks and heart monitors to silk carpets and gold-plated handguns.
The buyer’s account is contained in a new book presented Thursday.
In an interview, the 75-year-old says he can now die with a clear conscience.
