Kim Jong Un - said to be his father's favourite - has become the front-runner to inherit the mantle of leadership, despite his youth and inexperience.
Kim Jong Nam was once considered likely to succeed his ailing father but reportedly fell out of favor after being caught trying to enter Japan on a false passport in 2001.
And it was a Japanese TV programme - TV Asahi - which broadcast footage of Kim Jong Nam making the remarks in Beijing, in which he said he opposes a hereditary transfer of power to a third generation of his family.
'Personally, I am against third-generation succession, but .... if there were internal factors, (we) should abide by them,' he said.
Kim John Nam's comments follow a spectacular parade at Pyongyang Plaza in North Korea over the weekend.
It was officially staged to mark the 65th anniversary of the ruling Workers Party, founded by late President Kim Il Sung, but the subtext proved to be the first major public outing for Kim Jong Un.
Having all but banned the international media from North Korea, Kim Jong Il invited selected media to the parade - the biggest in the country's history - to give them a better look at his anointed successor.
Until two weeks ago, Kim Jong Un's future was little more than rumor and speculation outside North Korea.
The third son of Kim Jong Il had never appeared in the tightly-controlled state media until late last month, and even the exact spelling of his name was unclear, as is his age.
Believed to be 26, there were not even any photos of him as an adult until the state's main Rodong Sinmun newspaper recently published a group shot of the young man seated with his father and other top party leaders.
But his promotion to four-star general late last month, followed by his appointment to key political posts within the Workers' Party, confirmed suspicions he is being groomed to take the Kim family dynasty into a third generation.
Last week state television showed still images of father and son watching a military unit carry out live-fire drills.
The Swiss-educated son, known as the Young General or Young Commander, looks set to take control of the nuclear-armed nation of 24 million when his father steps down.
The question of succession has been a pressing one since Kim Jong Il, 68, reportedly suffered a stroke in 2008.
The inexperienced son would face a mountain of challenges if he were to take over as leader anytime soon, including tensions with regional powers over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program and a faltering economy further strained by sanctions imposed by the U.S. and United Nations.
But after three public appearances in two days, the two Kims stayed out of the spotlight on Monday.
Unusually, the international media who were allowed into the country to cover the parade were also allowed rare access to families away from the official events.
With few natural resources and little arable land, North Korea has struggled to feed its people since natural disasters battered its agricultural industry in the 1990s and aid from the former Soviet bloc dried up.
But the communist regime still rules and its people seemed ready to embrace the leader in waiting.
Yesterday, a national holiday at the tail end of a long weekend, every North Korean received a special gift from the government, as is the case on most major holidays.
Pak Chol, a 23-year-old who said he watched the live parade broadcast at home, took his family to the popular holiday spot of Moran Hill in Pyongyang for a picnic with their food parcelsm which included beer, Korean soju liquor, meat, fish and snacks.
'He has President Kim Il Sung's face,' said Pak.
'We had heard that when the Young General was young, he was admired by everyone who met him for his intelligence and good personality.
'I truly felt the strength of our country when I saw the Great Leader Kim Jong Il and the Young General Kim Jong Un.
'If we have General Kim Jong Il and young General Kim Jong Un leading the country, we can open up the gates and become a stronger and more prosperous nation.'
Down at the Taedong River, families gathered to fish and use paddleboats.
Jo Hyang Mi, who also said she watched Sunday's military parade on TV, was equally effusive in Kim Jong Un's praise.
'I was so happy to see Kim Jong Un after he was elected vice-chairman of the military commission,' she said.
'I feel happy and full of conviction knowing that our country is powerful and that our strength comes from the leadership of our Great Leader Kim Jong Il and from Kim Jong Un.'
Kim Jong Un is likely to inherit leadership of North Korea when Kim Jong Il dies.
Kim Jong Il himself became leader when Kim Il Sung died in 1994 in what was the communist world's first hereditary transfer of power.
Kim Il Sung was a former guerrilla who fought against Japan's colonization of Korea and built a cult of personality around himself and his son after founding the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in 1948.
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