Kim Jong Il locked in N Korea power game

TOKYO (AFP) - Kim Jong Il is locked in a power struggle in Pyongyang to succeed his father, a senior Russian official said yesterday, as a Western diplomat confirmed reports of a leaflet protest in the North Korean capital. Yevgeni Bazhanov, a senior Russian diplomat, said the North Korean regime would fall even if it began economic reforms.

Since the elder Kim died on 8 July, speculation has grown at the failure of Kim Jong Il to be appointed officially as successor. A German embassy spokesman in Tokyo confirmed that 'leaflets were thrown' in the grounds of several embassies, while South Korea's Yonhap news agency said the tracts called for the overthrow of Kim Jong Il.