KIM Jong-Un's Eric Clapton-loving brother snuck out of North Korea to watch the English rockstar perform at the Royal Albert Hall.

Western intelligence chiefs thought they had stumbled on a highly important coded message when they intercepted the words: "Please go to the Albert Hall and buy four tickets."

But it turned out the recipient, the state's UK ambassador Thae Yong Ho, was just being told to buy some seats for riff-loving Kim Jong Chol.

Ho explained how he was asked to buy tickets for Clapton's 70th Birthday Celebration Tour.

The former ambassador, who has since defected to South Korea, said: "I realised, 'Ah! It must be Kim Jong Chol!

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"In North Korea who else would be interested but Kim Jong Chol?'"

Chol is known to be a huge fan of the You Look Wonderful Tonight star and has shown little interest in his secretive nation's politics.

The 35-year-old, who like Clapton is a lead guitarist in his own band, was videoed alongside a mystery woman at the gig in 2015.

The playboy Korean wore a leather jacket and sunglasses as he bopped to his idol's riffs.

Chol is reported to have stayed at The Chelsea Harbour Hotel where a room costs around £200 a night.

Thae explained how he took the despot's brother on a guided tour of London's Denmark Street – famous for its musical instrument shops.

He added: "[One] shop owner didn't know it was Kim Jong Chol.

"He let him play for 30 minutes. The shopkeepers of those guitar shops were amazed by his talent."

But when asked his name by impressed staff at the shops, Chol refused to speak and "just smiled".

He has been spotted watching Clapton perform at gigs in Singapore and Germany in the past.

Despite being the eldest child of former dictator Kim Jong-Il, Chol was not handed power because he was thought to be a weaker character than brother Kim.

Surrey-born Clapton, 71, has received 18 Grammy Awards and was voted the second best guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone – being pipped to the post by Jimi Hendrix.

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