North Korean diplomat wanted in Kim murder case: Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian police on Wednesday named a North Korean diplomat along with a state airline official who are wanted for questioning over the murder of Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korea’s leader.
Kim Jong-nam, 46, was killed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on February 13, while preparing to board a flight to Macau, where he lived in exile with his family under the protection of Beijing.
South Korean and US officials believe the killing of the elder half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was an assassination carried out by agents of the North.
Giving an update on the investigation , Malaysia’s police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said the diplomat wanted for questioning was 44-year-old Hyon Kwang Song, a second secretary at the embassy.
Police also want to interview Kim Uk Il, 37, an employee of the North Korean state-owned airline Air Koryo.
So far, police have identified a total of eight North Koreans suspected of being linked to killing.
One, Ri Jong Chol, has been in custody since last week, and another, Ri Ji U, remains at large. Khalid said police “strongly believed” four others fled Malaysia on the day of the attack.
Police are also holding two women - one Vietnamese, one Indonesian - who are suspected of carrying out the fatal assault on Kim Jong-nam using a fast-acting poison.
The two women were trained to coat their hands with toxic chemicals, then wipe them on his face, police said.
“Yes, the two female suspects knew that the substance they had was toxic,” police chief Khalid said.