Test results could solve death mystery
MALAYSIA: The death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s halfbrother remains a mystery, with Malaysian officials saying that initial autopsy results show no evidence of a heart attack or puncture wounds.
In addition, no member of Kim Jong-nam’s family has come forward to verify his identity through DNA testing or claim his body.
The developments add to the questions surrounding the death of Kim, who was ambushed at Kuala Lumpur’s airport last week as he went to check in for a flight and apparently had poison applied to his face.
Noor Hisham Abdullah, Malaysia’s director general of health, said yesterday pathologists were still waiting for the results of laboratory tests to confirm the identity of the body and the cause of death.
Malaysia’s police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said two female suspects in the killing were trained to wipe toxin on Kim’s face, then wash their hands.
He said a North Korean embassy official was among eight North Korean suspects in the case. Four of them were believed to have returned to North Korea.
One suspect is in custody and three are believed to be at large in Malaysia, including the second secretary of the North Korean embassy.
Noor Hisham said authorities were also still waiting for a family member to come forward to provide DNA identification and claim the body. Kim Han Sol, the 20-something son of Kim Jong-am, was thought to have arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.
North Korea and Malaysia have become embroiled in an increasingly acrimonious diplomatic row over the case.
North Korea strongly objected to Malaysia’s decision to conduct an autopsy on Kim. It then accused Malaysian authorities of ‘‘mangling’’ the body.
Kang Chol, North Korea’s ambassador to Kuala Lumpur, said Malaysia was colluding with South Korea to try to make North Korea look bad and committing ‘‘human rights abuses’’ in the way the autopsy was conducted.
North Korea has not confirmed the identity of the deceased as a member of the ruling family. The ambassador called him ‘‘Kim Chol’’, the name listed in one of the four passports that Kim was carrying when the attack occurred.
However, Malaysian authorities have said that they are sure the victim is the North Korean leader’s older half-brother.
Meanwhile, North Korea’s former deputy ambassador to Britain says he fears for his life after Kim’s assassination.
Thae Yong-ho, who has given speeches and interviews denouncing the Pyongyang regime since defecting to South Korea last year, says he will curtail his public appearances.
South Korean intelligence services have increased Thae’s protection. ’’The number of personnel guarding Thae and his family around the clock has been doubled and the security net has been strengthened,’’ a government official told South Korea’s JoongAng newspaper.
- Washington Post, The Times