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SEOUL - The teenage grandson of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il was among cheering fans who packed a concert in Macau by a top South Korean pop star, a newspaper report said Saturday.
The communist state has been staging a campaign to weed out "decadent" foreign culture and ideals, but defectors say South Korean pop songs and movies are nevertheless popular in the isolated country.
Chosun Ilbo newspaper said the 14-year-old boy and five South Korean friends sang along and cheered to the pop star Rain, who performed in Macau on June 27.
"We were astounded when Kim Jong-Il's grandson sang along and cheered to a South Korean entertainer," the daily quoted an unidentified South Korean living in the Chinese special administrative region.
The boy is the son of Kim Jong-Il's eldest son Jong-Nam, who according to Chosun bought six tickets for his own son and the five South Korean teenagers at a cost of some 1,400 dollars.
Jong-Nam did not attend the concert.
Chosun quoted South Korean residents in Macau as saying Jong-Nam, his wife and their son have no qualms about mingling with South Korean residents there.
However Jong-Nam has been keeping a low-profile since May when his half brother Jong-Un was nominated as successor to the leader, Chosun said.
"He left for Bangkok last week as South Korean and Japanese journalists are hanging around at his favourite restaurants and bars. He will stay in Bangkok for a while," one South Korean in Macau told the daily.
South Korea's intelligence service has confirmed that Jong-Un is the successor, according to lawmakers briefed by the service.
Jong-Nam apparently spoiled his prospects after being deported from Japan in 2001 for trying to enter the country on a forged passport. He reportedly said he wanted to visit Tokyo Disneyland.
- AFP /ls
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