Set up. A nerve agent that kills in minutes. Vx, the nerve agent, is one of the most dangerous substances out there. Was the kid brother who President Trump calls little rocket man responsible . You knew this was kim jonguns order. Only one person who can make that order and thats kim jongun. Tonight, eyeopening access to a story most americans have never heard. Just waving out to the crowd. Our 20 20 investigation with bob woodruff, one of the few journalists ever to visit the hermit kingdom. Three continents in three months. What were seeing is, there he is walking in to the airport. Those still in danger. My father has been killed a few days ago. Those who fear for the families that this game of thrones could kill. The entire family, theyre all gathered up and all killed. A dynasty, a murder, and a shadowy kingdom. Im david muir. Im elizabeth vargas. And this is 20 20. You could not have had a crazier story. It was like a movie, it really was. It was planned. It was executed in a professional way. And it was done exactly how they wanted to do it. Its embarrassing to have a murder of this magnitude take place in your international airport. The way he died was the most gruesome, painful way that one could die. Reporter Kuala Lumpur International. The largest and Busiest Airport in malaysia. Somewhere in this sea of humanity is a man going by the name kim chol. He supposed to be departing for macau. What he doesnt realize is hes about to die. Watch as airport surveillance captures the middleaged man casually dressed in a tshirt and blazer, checking his flight information. From a different angle, you can see he is now under attack. One of two alleged assassins approaches from behind to smear something on the victims face. The dazed man seeks medical assistance inside the terminal but time is running out. He will be dead before he ever reaches the hospital. Hes, like, a chubby middleaged man walking through that airport. And then suddenly, two young women just grab him by the face and spread some type of chemical on him. Indeed. It was called vx, a nerve agent. Reporter one of the alleged assassins departs the terminal via taxi. Shes wearing a shirt that says l. O. L. It was very specifically targeted at just getting this one man. Reporter why target him . Because hes actually north korean royalty. Hes also traveling with a fake passport. His real name . Kim jong nam, halfbrother to the most enigmatic leader in the world, kim jongun. The alarming claim from north korea. He has responded in kind with threats of new missile tests. We begin a horrific cycle of violence. Reporter 20 20s threemonth investigation into the ties between this unlikely pairing took us from malaysia to tokyo, to switzerland, to macau. We uncovered what appears to be a cain and abellike tale that reveals hidden insights into the mysterious dictator. And the lifelong rivalry with the brother once considered to be the rightful heir to the north korean throne. Some people believe that kim jongun perceived him as a rival. Reporter think of it as east asias version of game of thrones, where the storyline is always about power and who has it and who wants it. The kim dynasty has ruled north korea with an iron fist for 70 years, remaining isolated and secretive by design, according to former cia analyst sue mi terry. How much do the people in north korea know about their leaders . Very little about their personal lives, or how they grew up, and what they do. Nothing thats beyond propaganda. Reporter according to north korean legend, the kim family sprang from here, majestic mt. Paektu, that straddles north korea and china. Kim jonguns grandfather and father are often depicted standing on top of the mountain. They say he was born here. Reporter its beautiful for sure as i learned when i climbed to the top of the chinese side last year. The myth may be legendary, but the reality, touristy. No leaders, just followers as we made our way to the top. China. Reporter the sacred family tree of the kim dynasty starts with kim ilsung, north koreas founder. Their great leader. His offspring, kim jongil. Esteemed as the dear leader, known for his bizarre haircut and penchant for jumpsuits and platform shoes. But it is the Third Generation of the bloodline where three Young Brothers first appear. And it is the oldest, kim jongnam, who was destined to one day lead. Finding interview subjects to discuss the early years of kim jongnam is easier said than done. Because before they can talk, they have to escape. This is downtown toronto. Weve found one defector. Reporter his name is lee youngguk and for 11 years, he was kim jongils bodyguard. How did you become a bodyguard for kim jongil . Translator based on personality, character, morals, and stamina. I was selected out of 14,000 people. It was a 14,000 to 1 competition. Reporter lee was able to watch as the oldest son, kim jongnam, was groomed as a potential successor, seen here dressed in military clothes as a child. Did kim jongil have a Good Relationship with kim jongnam, his eldest son . Translator kim jongil raised him and took him around himself. Kim jongnam had a good personality. He was chubby with a friendly personality, and was very humane. Reporter for someone who routinely and publically displayed a hatred of the u. S. And its capitalist ways, kim jongil had a bizarre fixation with western culture, especially its movies. He loved everything from rambo to dumbo. And when it came to the educations of his children, kim jongil shipped them far off from their backward and isolated homeland to switzerland. Jongnam ended up at this International School in geneva, where the western education had a profound influence on him. We understood that kim jongnam, as a young man, was more reform minded, prowestern, liked western things. And thought north korea was on a wrong path. Reporter it was all just a matter of time, experts said, before kim jongnam would one day be the natural heir to the family dynasty. But then he blew it. In 2001, kim jongnam was caught at an airport in tokyo, trying to enter with a fake passport to visit tokyo disneyland. The name he used, pang xiong, which means fat bear in mandarin. Makes no difference who you are reporter apparently it made a big difference to the north korean regime. Japan is one of the enemy countries of north korea, so to be caught in japan, trying to enter japan with a fake passport, this was a huge embarrassment to the regime. Reporter the fat bear quickly fell out of favor and was sent packing to macau where he remained a definite but distant threat. He understood that he posed a threat to kim jongun. So he feared for his safety, he feared for his life, so he didnt want to go back to north korea. Reporter coming up kim jongun at the crossroads. How eric clapton inadvertently helps set the stage for the leader of north korea. When we return. Strummed guitar you cant experience the Canadian Rockies through a screen. You have to be here, with us. Upbeat music travel through this natural wonder and get a glimpse of amazing, with a glass of wine in one hand, and a camera in the other, aboard rocky mountaineer. Canadas Rocky Mountains await. Call your travel agent or rocky mountaineer for special offers now. Reporter by now, north korean dictator kim jongun is a familiar boogeyman to the u. S. North korea testing a powerful missile. Reporter mocked by President Trump. Little rocket man. Reporter even lampooned in the seth rogandirected comedy the interview. You know whats more destructive than a nuclear bomb . Words. They hate us. Reporter but the story most americans dont know is how kim jongun beat out two older brothers to win the north korean game of thrones. But to understand the tale of the brothers, you first have to understand the tale of their mothers. Kim jongnams mother was the first and real wife of kim jongil. North koreans differentiate the real wife as a first wife, and that anybody that comes after is just kind of a mistress. Reporter and in fact, it is a mistress who gives birth to the current north Korean Leader, kim jongun, as well as another son named jongchol. According to that bodyguard, life for the illegitimate kim jongun is one of silence and shame. Translator his existence was a secret. Kim jongil built hidden houses for his concubines. It was similar to house arrest. Reporter the bodyguard says that isolation left its mark on the young boy. Translator he was stressed and had no one to play with his own age. There were only adults, who educated and played with him. Reporter was he a young boy who felt everything was coming his way . Translator he was quicktempered. He doesnt care about what others think. He doesnt feel sorry for other people. He does whatever he wants. Reporter lee says the lonely child did have a special treat which was rare visits to the kim familys monumental vacation resort in the town of wonsan, restricted to all outsiders. It has its own landing strip, private beach, even its own soccer stadium. Translator there is no one in this world who has felt as much pleasure as the kim dynasty. Reporter just like his more legitimate halfbrother, kim jongun is shipped off to switzerland for his education ending up here in 1996 in the stately swiss capital of bern. Kim lives in this unassuming apartment complex under the watchful eye of his moms sister and attends this International School. Its hard to find anybody that met him. To get the inside scoop on kims unlikely life in switzerland, we caught up in tokyo with Washington Post bureau chief anna fifield. Fifield landed an exclusive interview with kims caretaker aunt, who defected to the u. S. , now running a dry cleaning store and unwilling to have her face shown. He wasnt very interested in doing his lessons. He had kids over to play, he went in the, you know, family minivan off to the Swimming Pool and things. So, it sounds like he did have a relatively normal life. Reporter still, inside that modest apartment, classmates find signs that theres Something Special about their asian friend. He had all of the latest technology, which at the time in the 90s, was a minidisc player. He also had access to a lot of films before they were released in the cinema, like jackie chan movies. Jeanclaude van damme was another favorite. And he also had these very fancy nike air shoes that cost like 200, an extraordinary amount of money at the time. Reporter those expensive shoes indicate that the 12yearold korean is passionate about an american sport basketball. He is especially obsessed with Michael JordansChicago Bulls. His aunt told me it was kim jonguns mother encouraged him to take up basketball because there is this belief among korean mothers that if you play basketball you will grow up to be tall. Reporter although he only grew to be 5 1 2 feet tall, every single day after school, young kim would race to the Basketball Court to play with the local kids. He would practice and practice and practice. What he didnt have in natural talent he made up in determination. And he was seen wearing a Chicago Bulls jersey all the time. Reporter so, just how did this basketballcrazed kid end up as the Supreme Leader of north korea . Well, as youll recall, that older halfbrother, kim jongnam, was apparently taken out of the running after his illadvised attempt to sneak into disneyland. His humiliating fall from grace leaves a huge opening on the other side of the family tree for the sons of the mistress. Kim jonguns mother, i hear, was a very ambitious woman, and that once kim jongnam got caught in this very embarrassing situation, sneaking into japan, that she capitalized on that and used that to promote her own children. Reporter the logical next son in line is kim jonguns older brother jongchol. But he would be the next domino to fall. He, too, was undone by a fixation with western culture. Namely, the music of eric clapton. He embarrassed the regime after he was repeatedly caught sneaking into clapton concerts. Here he is in 2015 being snuck into a concert in london by a north korean diplomat. He doesnt have the right temperament, the characteristics. Thats what his father thought. Reporter that leaves the path clear for the youngest son, kim jongun, the only one not to publicly embarrass his father. And those aggressive qualities he displayed as a child now impress kim jongil. He had a little bit of a tough streak in him, and thats what his father liked, that he was strong, that he acted like a leader. Reporter and soon enough its clear for the world to see kim jongun is positioned to be the future ruler of north korea. When we return, kims obsession with the Chicago Bulls pays dividends. An Unlikely Alliance with the one american who got close enough to call him friend. Tells you a lot about our friendship here. Reporter and what could be the last straw for that errant halfbrother. What he does that makes him kims sworn enemy. Stay with us. Reporter december, 2011. North korea says goodbye to the dear leader kim jongil, as 27yearold kim jongun, one of the pallbearers at his fathers funeral, assumes the leadership of his country. But he is as much a mystery to North Koreans as he is to the west, who hope he will herald change. I dont think we know too much about this person thats the leader of north korea right now. Reporter but one thing is clear. Kim takes a very different public path than his reclusive and eccentric father, patterning himself instead on his legendary grandfather kim ilsung. It is no accident that kim jongun has put on all this weight, and has got the same haircut, and very often wears the same clothes as his grandfather. And smiles the same. Smiles the same, everything is very obviously designed to remind North Koreans that, you know, not only does he have this divine right to be the leader of north korea, but that he can make life better for North Koreans. There he is. Waving out to the crowd. Reporter during my reporting trips to north korea, i was never allowed to get close to the enigmatic leader. Have to stay within five feet of each other . Here, when he suddenly showed up at this Museum Opening and caused a frenzy among the press, we didnt get a chance to ask any questions. It turns out, one outsider with firsthand knowledge and personal contact with the north Korean Leader is not a diplomat or an american spy. Its this man. The only american known to have become close to kim after he assumed power. The flamboyant former nba star and chicago bull dennis rodman. His latest attempt to get into north korea was sponsored by a Company Called potcoin. Rodman made International Headlines when he visited north korea in 2013 along with a vice tv crew, at the invitation of the Chicago Bullsobsessed leader. At a goodwill basketball game, rodman was seen talking intently with kim. Later, rodman and his entourage got the surprise of their lives. An invitation to party with the mystery man. So since you had the chance to, i mean, just to shake his hand and talk to him, how is his english . Did you speak english to him . He said, hi. He said, okay now. But, but he has no, no english at all. Reporter so it looks, i mean it looks like you guys are talking here but this just, hes just speaking through his interpreter. No his, so every time we you see us talk like this, were talking about basketball and he always asked me, said, dude, i would love to go to new york, but i cant. He says stuff like that. Reporter what was he like . Did he seem serious . Hes always smiling, man. Hes all, hes always smiling. Especially when we youre around his, his comfort zone. Reporter in terms of basketball, did he play basketball at all . He said dennis, lets play horse. So we go to the freethrow line. He hits that. I said, all right. I missed the free throw, of course. And then next thing you know, he goes on other side of the corner over there, and he hits. I said dude, this guy can shoot. Reporter rodman has visited kim three times now. And was one of the privileged few allowed to visit that Luxury Resort that kim used to visit as a child. He rode horses with the dictator, met his wife and baby daughter, and partied late into the night. It was, like, 70 people at this big round table, man, like, wow, i mean. And everybody had their turn with, they had a shot of vodka. And then theyd try to say karaoke. Its 70 people trying to sing karaoke. Reporter how is he as a singer . Hes pretty good. Reporter what did he sing . He was singing frank sinatra, my way. Yeah, he had this girl band. Like 14 girls. They travel with him everywhere, to play his music. Reporter so he had the lyrics and a screen. He was reading it in english. He would do, he was singing it in, in all korean. Reporter rodman makes no apologies for his embrace of a dictator who lives the high life while so many of his countrymen suffer in misery. Its a friendship hug. You rarely see this in the world. Even with his grandfather and father. You dont see the leaders do this, especially an africanamerican. You never see this in north korea. Reporter but its a country with a lot of starvation, now, too, though. Is that okay . Well, you know, a lot of, a lot of people in the world are starving. Even though they say hes a bad man but he, to me, hes not a bad man. I didnt see that part. Reporter rodman may not think kims bad, but theres someone else who had serious concerns about him. His errant and disgraced halfbrother, kim jongnam. He and his family are living in the tiny chinese territory of macau, known as a mecca of gambling and glitz. The city provided security. Many people i talked to in macau believed that kim jongnam and his family were in macau under beijings protection. Reporter but even in exile, kim jongnam still worries about the fate of the north Korean People under the rule of his halfbrother. And perhaps unwisely, he begins speaking out. In tokyo, i met one of the few he confided to japanese journalist yoji gomi. How did you get a chance to meet kim jongnam . I came across him at beijing airport. I am very surprised, i start interviewed him, a lot of questions at the time. Reporter gomi landed a rare interview with the elusive kim at a macau restaurant. Translator i learned a lesson, not to do reckless and immature acts. I made a big mistake so it somehow aroused fathers anger. Reporter but perhaps the most reckless of his acts was criticizing his brothers rule. In a series of published email exchanges with gomi, kim wrote, the kim jongun regime will not last long. Without reforms, north korea will collapse, and when such changes take place, the regime will collapse. Kim jongnam said to me, north korea should be reformed and make north Korean People more rich and happier. Its a message to kim jongun. Reporter but do those comments make kim jongnam a marked man . Coming up, the north korean dictator goes on a killing spree. And not even his own family members are safe from his wanton cruelty. Translator nobody did it this brutally, this barbarically. Kim jongun used antiaircraft machine guns. You cannot even bury a dead body, because there is no dead body, it has just been obliterated. Reporter you havent seen a parade until youve been to north korea. Every year we try to spot anything new. I have seen firsthand how kim jongun plays the part of the smiling, benevolent leader. The last time i was here, that was his father doing the exact same thing. But in 2013, that beaming man turned out to be a wolf in sheeps clothing when he did something that appalled the world. We head to north korea. The news of the execution has stunned this region of the world. Reporter in front of a meeting of the north korean politburo, he publicly arrested his own uncle, jang song thaek, a powerful figure known for being reformminded and close to china. Accused of corruption, jang was executed, reportedly blown to pieces by an antiaircraft gun in public. I was shocked that kim jongun got rid of his uncle so brutally, so publically. So that ruthlessness shocked me. Reporter and the killing of his uncle was just the start. In 2015 it was revealed that kim was unhappy with the head of the countrys armed forces for complaining, talking back, and the greatest sin of all, falling asleep during a meeting. The countrys top defense official has reportedly been executed because he fell asleep during a meeting. Reporter kim reportedly had him publically executed, again by a favored method, blasted to kingdom come with an antiaircraft gun. Why do you think that kim jongun is so much more violent and in some ways unpredictable compared to his father . I think its a combination of his own character, his own temperament, and the environment because he is less legitimate so i think he does have this deep insecurity in terms of being able to rule and consolidate power. Reporter the gangsterstyle korean strongman embracing his inner gunslinger for the cameras. Offcamera, launching a Ruthless Campaign of terror, killing anyone suspected of being disloyal. Remember those pallbearers alongside kim jongun at his fathers funeral . One by one, these former elites have vanished from public life, retired, missing, or executed. This man, ri jong ho, was one of the most important officials in north korea, running the office that raised foreign cash for the kim family. He fled to the west with his wife and two children. He says he was terrified that they too would fall victim to kims wholesale slaughter of the elite. Translator if you get caught, you and your entire family can get executed simultaneously. So people dont even think to do anything because theyre too scared. How else can i prevail against so many enemies . Reporter even hollywood paid a price when it mocked the north Korean Leader in the movie the interview. Kim was not amused. According to u. S. Intelligence, he ordered a hack of sonys computers, and threatened terror attacks on theaters that dared to show the film. One of this largest theater chains says it is pulling the plug on the interview. This is hitting sony in the wallet. He doesnt have great a sense of humor in terms of people making fun of him. Reporter it doesnt take much to tick off the dictator. As a Young American student named Otto Warmbier discovered. Breaking new overnight. An American College student reporter 20 20 reported extensively on the case last june, devoting an entire program to warmbiers plight. He was arrested while perpetrating a hostile act. They are not saying any more than that. Accused of stealing a propaganda poster. I never should have allowed myself to be allured by the United States administration to commit a crime in this country. Reporter sentenced to 15 years of hard labor, but after a year, the North Koreans sent him home. They did not do this out of the kindness of their hearts. North korea doesnt do anything out of the kindness of their hearts. Reporter it turns out the 22yearold had suffered a brain injury and fallen into a coma while imprisoned in north korea. Six days after he got home their son who has returned from north korea with severe brain damage has now died. Reporter meanwhile, defectors say the dictator tightens the screws on anyone associated with his big brother. Tell me the people who were related somehow with kim jongnam. Translator Anyone Around kim jongnam who helped him, anyone who had even a few meals with him, anyone who had a relationship with him at all was executed. Reporter back in macau, where he was living a life of elegant exile with his family, kim jongnam knew he was now in extreme danger from his murderous halfbrother. According to some people i talked to in macau, he did fear for his life. He knew that his brother was after him. Reporter then it is february 13th, 2017. And heres kim, about to walk right into the arms of his alleged assassins. When we come back, a termination in terminal two. The surprising backstory of the suspected murderous millennials. They killed him with their hands. They tricked them into committing a murder. Reporter what does a tv show prank have to do with it . The investigation into the murder of the dictators brother, when 20 20 continues. With the chase mobile app, Michaela Deprince could pay practically anyone, at any bank, all while performing a grand jete between two grand pianos. She could. In a commercial. In real life she uses it to pay her sister, from her couch, for that sweater she stained. What sweater . phone buzzes life, lived michaelas way. Chase. Make more of whats yours. Reporter this is Kuala Lumpur International airport, malaysia. Its a modern facility, not so much as a whiff of jet fuel or foreign intrigue in the air. And yet, look at this Surveillance Footage obtained by fuji tv of a fatal morning in february, 2017, the airport assassination unfolding before your eyes. What were seeing here is kim jongnam walking to the kuala lumpur airport. Reporter Foreign Correspondent doug clark dug into the case for gq magazine. He points out kim entering the terminal, traveling light, except for a lot of cash. There was 120,000 wrapped in very nice, neat bricks in his backpack. And there is some speculation that he came to malaysia to meet with foreign intelligence services. Reporter he studies the departure board, unaware he is about to miss the last flight of his life, oblivious to the plot later exposed by malaysian authorities, a death squad of north korean spies and two young women recruited to carry out the killing. Everyones already in position. Theyve been following him for hours. And he has no idea whats coming. Reporter abc news consultant and former fbi agent brad garrett says it is a brazen public hit. You have the cameras, you have cops, and you have the public to tell you what just happened. So it is an extremely risky thing to do. It was an incredibly elaborate plot. It took months, maybe even years to set up. Reporter the story, as Malaysian Police and prosecutors later reveal it, involves 28yearold doan thi huong, from vietnam, and 25yearold siti aisyah, from indonesia. Weeks before the hit, clark says, siti is recruited outside this kuala lumpur nightclub by a man who appears briefly in a video she later posted on facebook. Clark says the man calls himself james. He and his colleagues claim to be producers auditioning the women for a hiddencamera tv show. Sort of like americas funniest home videos or something similar, in which they were told that they would be filmed while putting various substances on the faces of strangers. Clark says the women did not know each other. He says the producers keep them separate as they rehearse the inyourface prank in highend malls and hotels around kuala lumpur and elsewhere. They even took her to the airport, and they had her do dry runs there. Reporter the money is good, at least 100 per prank. But there is no tv show. Authorities say the producers are north korean agents with murder in mind. The day of the final act, a Security Camera captures siti in a coffee shop, seemingly without a care in the world, accepting cash from a man with a selfie stick, ready to pull off the final prank. So hes walking through this airport. And then, when he comes up to the kiosk to check in, hes flanked. He is. Reporter by two women, one on each side, right and left. Siti aisyah, the indonesian woman who struck first, wiped her hands across his face, stepped back. And then the second woman, the vietnamese woman, immediately wiped her hands across his face as well. Reporter the dirty work takes just seconds. Authorities say the women smear kims face with something provided by the north korean agents. This time, the substance is not harmless. It is vx, one of the deadliest nerve agents known to man. And if its not counteracted almost immediately, you are going to die within a few minutes. Reporter one theory is each woman was provided with one half of a special formulation of the poison that only became deadly when combined. All it would take is a single drop. And they wiped it across his eyes, his nose, his mouth to get it into his system and then used potentially a second person with reporter as the last minutes of his life tick away, kim approaches airport workers at an information desk. He is concerned enough to rudely interrupt a conversation to get their attention. No one seems to really understand the gravity of the moment. The poison is seeping into his body. Reporter clark points out this man at the edge of the frame on the Security Camera. He says its one of the north korean spies, still tailing kim. The North Koreans made sure that they had eyes on him every second. Reporter speaking with police, kim gestures to his face. And reports of this moment say that he wasnt really making much sense anymore. He was having trouble sort of holding a coherent conversation. Reporter they reportedly later say they notice a strange smell. You can see them take a step back. They escort kim to the airport medical clinic. By this time, the poison is already taking effect, causing every muscle to spasm, which explains that suddenly stiff walk. And already his legs are starting to stiffen. Hes got a little duck waddle going. This isnt sort of that healthy man we saw just moments ago. Reporter again, clark points out a man with a roller bag and a strange interest in kim. You can see him just sort of strolling very, very casually. Hes going to take a quick glance, and then hes going to keep going. Reporter he says its another agent making sure the poison is doing its work, which it is. Minutes later, kim dies in an ambulance. Those spies immediately, after the hit, went to passport control, cleared passport control before the malaysian authorities had any idea what was going on, got on their flights and escaped the country. Reporter as for the two women, after smearing kims face, they had simply walked away. They did not run. They walk straight into the bathroom to wash their hands. Malaysian prosecutors have said that this is evidence that the women knew what they were doing. The womens defense is that they had been told by their north korean handlers that they should wash this substance off afterwards. Reporter the women, who had made no attempt to hide their faces from airport Security Cameras, are arrested within two days. Six weeks later, malaysia returns kims body to north korea. About the same time i, too, was returning to north korea and when my flight landed, we were met by an ambulance. Passengers say workers loaded it with a casket from the cargo hold, raising the chilling possibility that we had unknowingly accompanied kim jongnam on his final journey home to the land of his ancestors. A north korean official did not want to discuss the killing. There was this assassination in malaysia. About kim jonguns half brother. Did north korea have anything to do with that . Translator youre bringing things up like malaysia. I dont know why youre acting like this. Reporter the North Koreans continue to deny having a hand in the airport assassination or even that the victim was indeed kim jongnam. Back in kuala lumpur, the trial of the female assassins, who pled not guilty, got started this summer. If convicted, they face execution by hanging. Still ahead, kim jongnam is gone, but some still place hope in a surviving branch of the family tree. This mysterious young man appearing in a video online. Im currently with my mother and sister. Reporter the hidden legacy of kim jongnam, a next generation, if he can stay alive. There have been rumors in the intelligence communities that a hit is out on him as well. Amer. Noy my hours are not ruling out the possibility of another north Korean Missile sailing the seas day and night. They knew where they were going, by watching the clouds move in the sky or the way their boats rocked. Thats how the waves and stars would speak to them. Guide them. Sometimes, you can find your way in the world, by getting lost in it. Let your legend begin at aulani, a oneofakind Disney Resort in hawaii reporter just a couple of months ago, surveillance cameras rolling in the heavily armed Demilitarized Zone captured video that stunned the world a lone north korean soldier, risking his own life, in a dramatic attempt to defect to the south. Watch as he speeds along a road, then loses control of his truck. Hopelessly stuck in a ditch, and with fellow north korean soldiers in hot pursuit, the only option, run. In a hail of bullets, the desperate soldier crosses to the other side. But hes badly shot, his life in immediate danger. 20 20 has obtained video of the rescue mission and an interview with the surgeon who saved the defectors life. He was transferred here from dmz area. Reporter he probably would have died if was not rescued instantly. Yes, thats right. Reporter as authorities sort everything out, experts say there are clear signs that life is getting worse in north korea under the rule of kim jongun. My name is kim hansol, from north korea, part of the kim family. Reporter but could this young man, the son of the murdered kim jongnam, be the face of hope for the north . Reporter in this video, released not long after his fathers murder, he says hes safe. My father has been killed a few days ago. Im currently with my mother and my sister. Reporter but for how long . Intelligence sources tell us hes now the target of death squads, dispatched by his ruthless uncle, forced deep into hiding under Chinese Government protection. Kim hansol obviously also poses a threat to kim jongun, just by bloodline. So i really hope that hes in safe hands. Reporter today, there are many koreans hoping that the living legacy of kim jongnam might one day come home to claim his place as the head of the paektu family dynasty. We hope this gets better soon. Incredible reporting tonight. That is 20 20. Im david muir. Im elizabeth vargas. For all of us here at 20 20 and abc news have a great night and a great weekend. Breaking news, a major fire keeping thousands inside