Seoul (ANTARA News/AFP) - A son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il attended a concert in Singapore this week by British guitarist Eric Clapton, a South Korean intelligence official told AFP Wednesday.

The official, who declined to be identified, confirmed news reports in Seoul of the visit by Kim Jong-Chol, second son of the leader of the hardline communist state.

Jong-Chol, wearing black pants and a T-shirt, was seen cheering and swaying among fans at Monday`s performance in the Singapore Indoor Stadium, Chosun Ilbo newspaper said.

TV video footage showed a man resembling Jong-Chol entering the stadium, accompanied by some 20 people including bodyguards and women carrying bouquets. He took pictures in front of the stage and chatted with a female companion.

Jong-Chol and his entourage arrived in Singapore early this month and checked into a smart hotel, Chosun said.

Sporting ear piercings, he toured a Universal Studios theme park and Underwater World and purchased expensive jewellery, it said, adding he flew home via Beijing after attending the concert and buying T-shirts.

Jong-Chol, 30, has been passed over as leader-in-waiting in favour of his younger brother Jong-Un. Their father considered Jong-Chol too effeminate, according to a report by a former sushi chef to the leader.

He reportedly last attended Clapton concerts in 2006 when he followed the British star`s performances in four German cities, accompanied by his apparent girlfriend or wife and North Korean bodyguards.

The leader`s eldest son Jong-Nam was born to a different woman.

He apparently dropped out of contention as future leader after he was caught sneaking into Japan with a bogus passport in 2001 with a woman and a child believed to be his wife and son.

He reportedly said he wanted to visit Tokyo Disneyland.

Jong-Nam`s teenage son in 2009 was seen among cheering fans who packed a concert in Macau by top South Korean pop star Rain, Chosun Ilbo reported at the time.
(Uu.KR-DLN/M016)

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