The brother of North Korean despot Kim Jong-un has failed to keep his love for legendary guitarist Eric Clapton a state secret.
A North Korean official — on behalf of the leader’s sibling, Kim Jong Chol — used a cryptic, disposable email address to secure four tickets for him to see the British rock star at London’s Royal Albert Hall in May 2015, according to Reuters.
Days before the concert, North Korean government higher-ups in Pyongyang placed an urgent phone call to the country’s then-London deputy ambassador, Thae Yong Ho, telling him to “get ready to receive a very important e-mail,” Reuters said.
A short time later, Ho received the classified email, stating, “Please go to the Albert Hall and buy four tickets.” The message was sent from a disposable e-mail address intended to throw off Western intelligence agencies.
Ho went online to check upcoming concerts at the Albert Hall and only one stood out to him, “Eric Clapton’s 70th Birthday Celebration Tour.” He soon learned that he would personally escort Chol to the Clapton concert, Reuters said.
“I realized, ‘Ah! It must be Kim Jong Chol! In North Korea, who else would be interested but Kim Jong Chol?’” Ho, who defected to South Korea in 2016, told Reuters during an interview Friday.
A video surfaced of the May 2015 concert showing Chol sporting a leather jacket and wearing aviator sunglasses with a woman beside him. The woman was later identified as the rhythm guitarist for an all-female North Korean pop band, “Moranbong.”
The 35-year-old Chol is known as a talented lead guitarist who regularly jams with Moranbong.
“He’s very free,” said Thae. “But he’s only interested in guitars and music.”
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