A British daily says internal power struggles in North Korea may be connected to the pace and scope of economic reforms in the communist country.

The online edition of the Independent, quoting Chinese and South Korean sources, said on Wednesday that Kim Jong-il is reportedly preparing to announce new changes to North Korea's political and economic system in late February when the country celebrates his birthday. The paper correspondingly linked reported assassination attempts against Kim's relatives to the pending changes in the communist regime.

The daily, quoting government sources in Seoul, said Austrian intelligence was reported to have foiled an attempt last month to assassinate Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of former North korean leader Kim Jong-il, when he was visiting the country. Austria's Foreign Ministry has denied the story.

Also mentioned in the report was the devastating train explosion at Ryongchon in the North earlier this year. The paper quoted diplomatic sources as saying that Kim Jong-il, who was returning from an official visit to China at the time, missed the train explosion by only 20 minutes. The report added that Kim had subsequently been treating the train explosion as a failed attempt to kill him.