Son of N.Korea's Kim Jong-il in Macau: Japan media

TOKYO (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's eldest son is in Macau, a Japanese newspaper reported on Wednesday, quoting diplomatic sources in Hong Kong.

The Yomiuri Shimbun, quoting sources involved in China-North Korean ties, also said Kim Jong-nam may visit a bank in Hong Kong to give an explanation about his account held there.

While the Hong Kong account is not subject to a U.S. crackdown on North Korean assets, the visit coincides with talks between the two countries over the measures, and may have some link to the discussions, the paper said.

The U.S. Treasury Department said in September 2005 that Macau's Banco Delta Asia had helped Pyongyang launder earnings from counterfeit U.S. dollars and illicit drugs, leading to Macau freezing $24 million in North Korean accounts.

Kim Jong-nam is known to make frequent visits to Macau, according to a diplomat in Hong Kong, but consulates for North and South Korea in Hong Kong each said they have no information on a possible visit to either Hong Kong or Macau.

Kim Jong-nam has been spotted outside of North Korea, including an incident in 2001 when he was deported from Japan for trying to enter the country using a forged Dominican Republic passport. He was quoted as saying that he had wanted to visit Tokyo Disneyland.

Kim Jong-il has three known sons, but Jong-nam, said to be 35, reportedly fell out of favor following the incident, and focus has been on whether the North Korean leader will pick one of the others, Jong-chol and Jong-un, both in their 20s, as his successor.

(Additional reporting by John Ruwitch in Hong Kong)