Subra: Body is still at KLH
PUTRAJAYA: The body of Kim Jong-nam has not been moved from the Kuala Lumpur Hospital (KLH) mortuary.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said yesterday Jong-nam’s body was under the responsibility of the Health Ministry pending advice from the Foreign Ministry or the Prime Minister’s Office on the next course of action.
“The negotiations between Foreign Ministry and the North Korean government are ongoing. We need to wait for the results from the discussion before we can decide what to do with the body,” he said after the Health Ministry’s Excellent Service Awards ceremony here yesterday.
“There have been speculations on the body’s whereabouts. As far as I know, the body has always been at the KLH mortuary.”
Dr Subramaniam also denied reports that the remains had been cremated. “The ministry could not do such things without getting any directive from the responsible parties. We have been waiting for his next of kin for a long time, but unfortunately, none of them have come forward to provide any assistance,” he said.
When asked how long the ministry planned to keep the body, he said it would keep the remains until it found a holistic solution as it was a sensitive issue involving other nations.
Jong-nam, the estranged halfbrother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was attacked on Feb 13 at klia2 while he was about to check in for a flight to Macau.
He was reported to have had his face smeared with a substance by two women. Toxicology reports indicated that he was attacked using VX nerve agent.
He died en route to Putrajaya Hospital.