Exclusive: North Korean leaders used Brazilian passports to apply for Western visas - sources
A scan obtained by Reuters shows an authentic Brazilian passport issued to North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un. Handout via REUTERS
A Brazilian source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the two passports in question were legitimate documents when sent out as blanks for consulates to issue.
Four other senior Western European security sources confirmed that the two Brazilian passports with photos of the Kims in the names of Josef Pwag and Ijong Tchoi were used to apply for visas in at least two Western countries.
It was unclear whether any visas were issued.
The passports may also have been used to travel to Brazil, Japan and Hong Kong, the security sources said.
A scan obtained by Reuters shows an authentic Brazilian passport issued to North Korea's late leader Kim Jong-il. Handout via REUTERS
Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun reported in 2011 that Jong Un visited Tokyo as a child using a Brazilian passport in 1991 - before the issue date on the two Brazilian passports.
‘JOSEF PWAG’
Both 10-year passports carry a stamp saying “Embassy of Brazil in Prague” with a Feb. 26, 1996, issue date. The security sources said facial recognition technology confirmed the photographs were those of Kim Jong Un and his father.
The passport with Jong Un’s photo was issued in the name of Josef Pwag with a date of birth of Feb. 1, 1983.
So little is known about Jong Un that even his birth date is disputed. He would have been 12 to 14 years old when the Brazilian passport was issued.
Jong Un is known to have been educated at an international school in Berne, Switzerland, where he pretended to be the son of an embassy chauffeur.
Jong Il’s passport was issued in the name Ijong Tchoi with a birth date of April 4, 1940. Jong Il died in 2011. His true birth date was in 1941.
Both passports list the holders’ birthplaces as Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The first security source declined to describe how the passport copies had been obtained, citing secrecy rules.
Reuters has only seen photocopies of the passports so was unable to discern if they had been tampered with.
