SEOUL - A COMMENT by North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's eldest son Kim Jong nam that he is not interested in the issue of succession does not imply he is out of the competition to run the country, analysts said on Sunday.

In comments to reporters at a hotel in Beijing on Saturday, the younger Kim said 'I have no interest', when asked if he was interested in the leadership succession issue, according to Yonhap News Agency.

He said succession was only for his father to decide, as he had also stated earlier when he met reporters upon arriving at a Beijing airport.

'The response by Kim Jong Nam doesn't imply that he isn't willing to succeed,' said Mr Moon Hong sik, Research Fellow at Institute for National Security Strategy (INSS).

'It's rather a prudent answer coming from a highly possible successor, without being disrespectful to his father as it may lead to misunderstandings.'

Mr Kim arrived in Beijing from Pyongyang along with a senior level Chinese official, Mr Wang Jiarui, who met Mr Kim Jong Il in the North Korean capital on Friday.

The meeting with a foreign visitor was seen as evidence the North Korean leader, who US and South Korean officials said fell seriously ill last year, was well enough to run Asia's only communist dynasty and make decisions about its nuclear programme.

The eldest son, in his late thirties, said he was in China on a personal visit and he had no plans to meet with Chinese officials, Yonhap reported.

Analysts said Mr Kim's visit has no great significance as he often travels abroad to Hong Kong, Macao and Beijing.

Mr Kim said he had no information regarding recent reports on Mr Kim Jong il's third and youngest son, Mr Jong Un, being picked as the successor, adding 'it is not right to make assumptions before anything is decided', the report said. -- REUTERS