It's been widely suspected for decades that North Korea's political elite - including members of the ruling Kim family - would obtain Western visas under false pretenses, but for the first time, Reuters has published images of a fraudulently obtained Brazilian passports that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un used to apply for visas to visit western countries. Although the ruling family is known to have used travel documents obtained under false pretences, the photocopies of the Brazilian passports have not been published before. The incident came to light when a senior Western security source told Reuters, "They used these Brazilian passports, which clearly show the photographs of Kim Jong-un and Kim Jong-il, to attempt to obtain visas from foreign embassies." "This shows the desire for travel and points to the ruling family's attempts to build a possible escape route.” Kim Jong-un’s passport, which carries the name Josef Pwag, gives his place of birth as Sao Paulo, Brazil, and lists his date of birth as February 1, 1983. The North Korean embassy in Brazil did not comment on the issue, however, the foreign embassy is said to be investigating into the matter. A Brazilian source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the two passports in question were legitimate documents when sent out as blanks for consulates to issue. Four other senior Western European security sources told Reuters that the two Brazilian passports with photos of the Kims in the names of Josef Pwag and Ijong Tchoi were used to apply for visas in at least two Western countries. • If the visas were issued for the North Korean leaders, however, is still unconfirmed. In an exclusive report, Reuters reported that according to five Western European security sources the passports were issued for the Kims with the names Josef Pwag and Ijong Tchoi, and were potentially used to travel to Brazil, Japan and Hong Kong. A Japanese newspaper reported in 2011 that KJU visited Tokyo in 1991 - when he was still a child - using a Brazilian passport, which is before the issue date on the two Brazilian passports obtained by Reuters. SEE ALSO: North Korea’s cheerleading squad are also Kim Jong Un’s ‘sex slaves’

Both 10-year passports carry a stamp saying “Embassy of Brazil in Prague” with a Feb 26, 1996, issue date. The security sources said facial recognition technology confirmed the photographs were those of Kim Jong Un and his father. Kim Jong Un, who went to international school in Berne, Switzerland, also reportedly traveled to Japan around 1991 using fake Brazilian passports under the name Joseph Pak, the Telegraph reported in 2011. KIM JONG UN’S BROTHER FEARED HIS LIFE WAS ‘IN DANGER’ MONTHS BEFORE HE WAS POISONED

Kim Jong Nam, the eldest son of Kim Jong Il who was killed by the banned VX nerve agent in February 2017, was arrested in May 2001 when he was arrested at an airport in Tokyo using a counterfeit passport, the BBC reported. The document registered to his father, Kim Jong-il, is issued under the name Ijong Tcho and also lists Sao Paulo as his place of birth.
Five unnamed Western European security sources say that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his father Kim Jong-il used fraudulently obtained Brazilian passports in order to apply for visas to visit Western countries in the 1990s.