A Japanese chef who prepared sushi for North Korean leader Kim Jong Il for 13 years has recently published a book that claims to give a firsthand account of Kim's luxurious lifestyle.

"I have read and seen various media reports on the general secretary, but I felt they do not tell the true story," says the 56-year-old author whose book, "Kim Jong Il's Cook," bears the pseudonym Kenji Fujimoto.

"I thought I should write about the reality of (Kim's life), which I had a chance to observe firsthand," he is quoted as saying by the book's publisher, Fuso Publishing Co.