Buckle Your Seat Belts

		LATEST COVER STORY Asia's Tomb Raiders  Spirited Away  How to Raid a Tomb  Moving the Loot October 20, 2003 Issue Past Covers Bali Remembered Oct. 13, 2003 ----------------- What Went Wrong? Oct. 6, 2003 ----------------- What's Next Sept. 29, 2003 ----------------- Japan's Koizumi Sept. 22, 2003 ----------------- The Saudis Sept. 15, 2003 ----------------- Dyslexia Sept. 8, 2003 ----------------- U.S. in Iraq Sept. 1, 2003 ----------------- Asian Journey August 18-25, 2003 ----------------- Cool Japan August 11, 2003 ----------------- Gloria Arroyo August 4, 2003 ----------------- Women in China July 28, 2003 ----------------- Asian Longevity July 21, 2003 -----------------   ASIA  Malaysia: Mahathir steps down  Essay: Last of the strongmen?  Korea: Roh's Woes NOTEBOOK  Japan: Baseball's losers win  China: Blood Feud  N. Korea: Suspicious accident  Milestones  Verbatim  Letters GLOBAL ADVISOR  Travel: Lowdown on the high life  Check In: Best airport lounge  Concorde: A piece of history  Berlin: Underground art  DIY: Taking kids abroad  Style: Bespoke, not broke  Food: Lambrosia CNN.com: Top Headlines

Accident or palace plot? Like so many things in North Korea, it's a mystery. According to Japan's Sankei Shimbun, Ko Young Hee, longtime companion of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, is in critical condition after injuring her head in a car accident. Pyongyang made no comment, but the report raised eyebrows among North Korea watchers since motoring in the Hermit Kingdom isn't very hazardous. (Private ownership of cars isn't allowed.) "If there was an accident," says Sohn Kwang Joo, a research fellow at South Korea's Institute of National Unification Policy, "there is a good chance it wasn't a car accident."

Ko, a Japanese-born Korean former dancer, is one of the three main women in Kim's life, and in recent months North Korea's propaganda machine has referred to her as "The Beloved Mother," prompting speculation that one of Ko's two sons is being groomed to succeed Kim. Jong Nam Kim, an older son by a different mother, is thought to be out of favor with dad. He might want to drive carefully.

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