S. Korean source: Kim half brother believed murdered in Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR/SEOUL (Reuters) – The estranged half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been murdered in Malaysia, a South Korean government source said on Tuesday.
Kim Jong-nam, the older half brother of the North Korean leader, was known to spend a significant amount of his time outside the country and had spoken out publicly against his family.
In a statement, Malaysian police said the dead man, aged 46, held a passport under the name Kim Chol.
Kim Jong-nam has been caught in the past using forged travel documents.
Police official Fadzil Ahmat said the cause of Kim’s death was not yet known, and a postmortem would be carried out.
“So far there are no suspects, but we have started investigations and are looking at a few possibilities to get leads,” Fadzil told Reuters.
According to Fadzil, Kim had been planning to travel to Macau on Monday when he fell ill at the low-cost terminal of Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).
“The deceased... felt like someone grabbed or held his face from behind,” Fadzil said. “He felt dizzy, so he asked for help at the... counter of KLIA.”
Kim was taken to an airport clinic where he still felt unwell, and it was decided to take him to hospital. He died in the ambulance on the way to Putrajaya Hospital, Fadzil added.
South Korea’s TV Chosun, a cable TV network, reported that Kim had been poisoned with a needle by two women believed to be North Korean operatives who fled in a taxi and were at large, citing multiple South Korean government sources. Reuters could not confirm those details. The South Korean government source who spoke to Reuters did not immediately provide further details.
South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it could not confirm the reports, and the country’s intelligence agency could not immediately be reached for comment.
“We don’t know if there was a cloth or needles; the receptionist said someone grabbed his face, he felt dizzy,” police official Fadzil said, when asked about the nature of the reported attack.