Half-brother of dictator Kim Jong Un assassinated

THE older brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has died after being attacked at Kuala Lumpur Airport, a senior Malaysian official said.

The official said Kim Jong Nam was attacked with a spray on Monday in the shopping concourse and sought help at an information counter. He was taken to the airport clinic but died en route to hospital.

Multiple South Korean media outlets, citing unnamed sources, said Kim Jong Nam was assassinated by two women said to be North Korean agents who are being sought by Malaysian police after fleeing in a taxi.

District police chief Abdul Aziz Ali said a North Korean man was waiting for a flight to Macau on Monday when he fell ill and died en route to hospital.

Selangor state police chief Abu Samah Mat said the man died on the way to Putrajaya Hospital.

Kim Jong Nam reportedly fell out of favour in North Korea after being caught trying to enter Japan on a false passport in 2001, saying he wanted to visit Tokyo Disneyland.

He is believed to have been in his mid-40s and has reportedly been living in recent years in Macau, Singapore and Malaysia.

Kim Jong Nam and Kim Jong Un have the same father, late dictator Kim Jong Il, but different mothers.

Since taking power in late 2011 Kim Jong Un has executed or purged a series of high-level government officials in what South Korea has described as a “reign of terror”.

The most spectacular was the 2013 execution of his uncle, Jang Song Thaek.