Kim Jong Nam’s murder: Malaysia ends visa waiver for North Koreans

KUALA LUMPUR: The only North Korean arrested over the dramatic airport assassination of Kim Jong Nam is to be deported, Malaysia said on Thursday as it announced the abrupt cancellation of a visa-waiver programme with Pyongyang.

The moves came the day after two young women appeared in court charged with murdering the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un with a banned nerve agent.

Attorney general Mohamed Apandi Ali said 47-year-old Ri Jong-chol would be released and deported on Friday.

“He is a free man. His remand expires and there is insufficient evidence to charge him,” Apandi said. “He has no proper [travel] documents so we will deport him.”

Seven other North Koreans are wanted in connection with the killing, including a diplomat and an airline employee who are believed to be in Malaysia.

Four others are thought to have fled to Pyongyang on the day of the murder.

Ri was arrested days after Kim sufferedanagonisingdeathwhen he was attacked at Kuala Lumpur International Airport as he waited to board a flight to Macau.

CCTV footage shows two women approaching the heavyset 45-year-old and appearing to thrust a cloth in his face.

Police say he suffered a seizure and died less than 20 minutes later, without reaching hospital.

Swabs of the dead man’s face revealed traces of the VX nerve agent, a synthetic chemical so deadly that it is classed as a weapon of mass destruction. Siti Aisyah and Doan Thi Huong were charged with murder.