Dirty Details

-#include virtual="/time/asia/magazine/2003/0721/thisweek.txt"-->Spies and satellite photos are among the few ways to tell what's going on inside secretive North Korea. But for intelligence on the life of Kim Jong Il, consult one of the many tell-all memoirs written by former employees and associates. Published in Japan late last month, the newest book is Kim Jong-il's Chef, which offers an inside look from the kitchen. According to the author, who goes by the pseudonym Kenji Fujimoto (he says Kim threatened to kill him), the Dear Leader has a 10,000-bottle wine cellar, likes Mazda RX-7 sports cars, enjoys dog soup on Sundays and "every special dog-eating summer day" and thinks his second son, Kim Jong Chol, is "like a girl." The book claims Kim forces officials to attend nonstop banquets that last up to four days, a duty eased somewhat by the occasional presence of the "Group for Pleasure," young female dancers whom Kim often forces to strip. Other books in the Kim bibliography:

Until Azaleas Bloom (1996)
By: Shin Young Hee, a dancer who performed at Kim's parties
Dirt: Kim stages drinking contests, sometimes involving beer spiked with urine. Winners sometimes receive a car or a piano

Our Escape Is Not Over (1989)
By: Choi Un Hee and Shin Sang Ok, a South Korean actress and director, respectively, kidnapped by Kim in 1978
Dirt: The height-challenged leader refers to himself as "small as a midget's turd"

I Was Kim Jong Il's Bodyguard (2002)
By: Lee Young Kuk, part of Kim's posse for 10 years
Dirt: The Dear Leader banned secretaries from wearing hairpins in his office, fearing that they might be used to assassinate him

Taedong River Royal Family (1996)
By: Lee Il Nam, Kim's nephew (the author was killed by unknown assailants in 1997)
Dirt: A top official shot his own wife to death in front of Kim to prove his loyalty after she displeased the dictator

Orient Express: Across Russia with Kim Jong Il (2002)
By: Konstantin Pulikovsky, a Russian-government official who rode with Kim on a 2001 rail journey to Moscow (Kim is afraid of flying) Dirt: Pulikovsky said Kim's luxurious private train was stocked with fresh lobsters, roast donkey and comely female conductors