DPRK ambassador denies saying body was that of Kim’s half-brother

The ambassador of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea denied on Monday confirming for Malaysian authorities that a man whose death is under investigation in Kuala Lumpur was Kim Jong-nam, the elder halfbrother of DPRK top leader Kim Jong-un.

The ambassador, Kang Chol, made the remark after Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry summoned him on Monday to provide an explanation over a statement he had made on the police investigation of the death.

In a strongly worded statement on Friday, Kang had accused the Malaysian government of having “something to conceal” in its investigation, purposely delaying the release of the body and conducting the autopsy unilaterally.

“It has been seven days since the incident, but there is no clear evidence on the cause of death, and at the moment we cannot trust the investigation by the Malaysian police,” Reuters quoted Kang as telling reporters on Monday after the meeting at the Foreign Ministry.

He said the embassy had only identified the victim as Kim Chol based on the passport found on the dead man, and he suggested a joint investigation with Malaysian authorities, Reuters said.

The Malaysian government viewed the criticism as baseless, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement after the meeting with the ambassador, which was called by Nushirwan Zainal Abidin, the ministry’s deputy secretary-general for bilateral affairs.

The statement said the Malaysian ambassador in Pyongyang had been recalled to Kuala Lumpur for consultations.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Monday, “I have absolute confidence that they (the Malaysian police and doctors) are objective in whatever they do,” according to the Malaysian state news agency Bernama.

Najib emphasized that Malaysia “will be objective and expect them (the DPRK) to understand that the probe will follow Malaysian laws.”