NK delegates come for Kim’s body

A NORTH Korean delegation arrived in Kuala Lumpur yesterday seeking the body of leader Kim Jong Un’s half-brother, the victim of a nerve-agent attack.

The body of Kim Jong Nam, killed on February 13 at Kuala Lumpur’s airport, is at the center of a diplomatic battle between North Korea and Malaysia.

North Korea opposed Malaysian officials even conducting an autopsy, while Malaysia has resisted giving up the body without getting DNA samples and confirmation from next of kin.

The delegation includes Ri Tong Il, a former North Korean deputy ambassador to the United Nations, who told reporters outside the North Korean Embassy that the diplomats were in Malaysia to retrieve the body and seek the release of a North Korean arrested in the case. He said the delegation also wants “development of the friendly relationship” between North Korea and Malaysia.

Malaysian officials have confirmed that the victim of the attack was Kim Jong Nam. North Korea, however, has identified him only as a North Korean national with a diplomatic passport bearing the name Kim Chol.

Health Minister Subramaniam Sathasivam said Malaysia would continue to insist the body be positively identified by medical examiners through DNA or other means before it can be released. He said protocol was to release it to the next-of-kin once identification was completed. Asked how long Malaysia can keep Kim’s body at the morgue, he said “we can keep as long as we want.”

Police have said that the body will eventually have to be released to the North Korean embassy if there is no claim by Kim’s family members.

Kim’s killing took place amid crowds of travelers at Kuala Lumpur’s airport and appeared to be a well-planned hit.

Malaysian authorities say North Koreans put the deadly nerve agent VX on the hands of two women who then placed the toxin on Kim’s face. He died on the way to a hospital, within about 20 minutes of the attack, they say.

Malaysian Attorney General Mohamed Apandi Ali said yesterday that the two women accused of killing Kim — Indonesian Siti Aisyah and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong — will be charged with murder today and would face a mandatory death sentence if convicted. Both women have been arrested, and authorities must file charges by today or release them.

Both women said they thought they were part of a prank TV show when they put their hands on Kim. Indonesian officials have said Aisyah told them she was paid the equivalent of US$90.

“For Aisyah, we will always provide legal assistance and advocacy to ensure her rights,” said Lalu Muhammad Iqbal, director of citizen protection at Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry. “We have assigned lawyers who would accompany her during the process.”

Malaysia has also detained a 45-yearold North Korean, Ri Jong Chol, whose role in the killing is unclear.

Asked if the North Korean would be charged, Apandi said it depended on the outcome of the investigation.

Authorities are seeking seven other North Korean suspects, four of whom fled the country the day of Kim’s death and are believed to be back in North Korea. Others sought include the second secretary of North Korea’s embassy and an employee of North Korea’s stateowned airline, Air Koryo.

Malaysia hasn’t directly accused North Korea of having masterminded the killing, but South Korea has though it has not provided evidence, but suspicions were heightened over the weekend when Malaysia announced that VX killed Kim. Producing the deadly toxin requires a highly sophisticated lab, and VX is one of many chemical weapons North Korea is believed to possess.

South Korean lawmakers said yesterday that the country’s National Intelligence Service told them that four of the North Koreans identified as suspects were from the Ministry of State Security, North Korea’s spy organ.