Death of Kim Jong-Un’s brother.
HE KNEW the assassins were coming for him. It was a fact Kim Jongnam lived with every day: his younger brother hated him and wanted him dead. And this was no idle threat – his bloodthirsty sibling is none other than Kim Jong-un, the all-powerful leader of North Korea.
Knowing his brother had many means at his disposal to see his wish carried out, Kim Jong-nam lived in constant fear, always trying to stay one step ahead of the assassins he knew would eventually be sent to kill him. It was just a matter of time.
The day he’d been dreading finally arrived last month as he walked through Kuala Lumpur Airport in Malaysia preparing to check in for a flight to Macau. He initially didn’t think anything of it when a young woman stepped in front of him. Dressed in a short skirt, pink tights and a top with the letters LOL (internet speak for Laugh Out Loud), she looked harmless – but then she leaned forward and sprayed something in his face.
Distracted, he didn’t notice the figure behind him. Next thing someone grabbed him from behind, locked him in a chokehold and a cloth was clamped over his face.
CCTV cameras captured grainy footage of the suspects – the young woman, now known as “the LOL assassin”, and her accomplice who appeared to be a man disguised as a woman.
And then just as suddenly as his assailants appeared, they were gone. Kim (46) was seen staggering to an information desk where he appealed for help.
“Very painful, very painful, I was sprayed liquid,” were his final words before collapsing in front of shocked staff and losing consciousness.
An ambulance was called but by the time Kim got to hospital he was already dead.
Now investigators are trying to figure out what happened. At the time of going to print three people were in custody and an autopsy was being done on Kim’s body to determine the toxin that might have been used to kill him.
It’s suspected it might have been tetrodotoxin, a poison extracted from the lethal pufferfish which is 1 200 times more toxic than cyanide.
But who would have wanted him to die such a painful death? Fingers are of course pointing to his brother.
THE secretive state of North Korea has a long history of sending agents overseas to carry out assassinations, attacks and kidnappings. In 2012 Kim wrote a letter to his brother, who’d taken over as supreme leader following the death of their father, Kim Jong-il, pleading with him to show mercy to him and his family. One of the first things Jong-un (33) did after coming to power was issue an assassination order for his brother, who’d often spoken out against the despotic regime while living in exile.
Kim was desperate in 2012 when he wrote to his brother. He’d just survived a hit-and-run, which he believed was a botched assassination attempt.
“We have nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. We’re well aware that the only way to escape is suicide,” he wrote.
But his heartfelt plea fell on deaf ears. After reading the letter his brother reportedly told top officials, “I just hate him so get rid of him.”
Neighbouring South Korea says intelligence coming out of North Korea over the years has left it in little doubt that Jong-un wanted his brother dead.
“It was a command that had to be pulled off, no matter what. The [North Korean] spy agency had consistently been preparing for the killing and they accomplished it this time,” says Lee
‘We have nowhere to hide . . . The only way to escape is suicide’ The exiled brother of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un died an agonising death – it was the fate he’d always feared Compiled by JANE VORSTER
Byung-ho, who heads South Korea’s National Intelligence Service.
But why would Jong-un want his brother dead? Once dubbed the “Little General”, Kim was his father’s favourite, and although illegitimate – the result of an affair Jong-il had with South Korean actress Sung Hae-rim – he was widely tipped to succeed him.
Kim grew up in the lap of luxury. While many of his countrymen lived in extreme poverty he had all the latest toys and gadgets from Europe. Between age 10 and 17 he was schooled in Switzerland and Moscow.
Meanwhile, Jong-il had three more children with a dancer named Ko Yong Hui, including Jong-un. Kim reportedly resented the fact that his father had started another family. When he returned home and enrolled at university he had ideas about a free-market economy, inspired by his time overseas – which caused him and his dad to clash.
Yoji Gomi, the author of the 2012 book My Father, Kim Jong-il, And Me, reckons because of North Korea’s tradition of raising potential successors separately it’s probably unlikely that Kim and his brother ever met.
When he was older, Kim was given a minor role in government but it was clear that Jong-un was the one being groomed for power.
In 2001 the elder sibling really burnt his bridges when he was caught trying to enter Japan, North Korea’s sworn enemy, on a false passport. Apparently the paunchy playboy had been making secret jaunts to Tokyo for years to visit the red-light district.
Arriving home in disgrace, he was imprisoned for three days by his father before being banished forever.
During the next decade he drifted between Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and France, marrying twice and fathering a son, Kim Han-Sol, before settling in Macau where he received financial support from the Chinese.
China is active in North Korea and there’s speculation that it saw Kim as a possible replacement for Jong-un should he ever step out of line – which might be why his brother may have wanted him out of the way.
North Korea hasn’t reacted to the news of Kim’s death other than to object to the post-mortem examination being carried out on his body – this is probably because they’re worried that once the toxin is identified more fingers will be pointed at them.
Meanwhile South Korean and Malaysian investigators are working together to join the dots. In the days after the killing they arrested two women and a man who they hope will help shed light on the murder mystery.
First to be apprehended was Doan Thi Huong (28) from Vietnam – the “LOL assassin”. She reportedly told police that four men had offered her $100 (about R1 300) to spray Kim, but she thought it was a “harmless joke”.
“I didn’t know it was meant to kill him,” she was quoted as saying.
Police also arrested a Malaysian man and an Indonesian woman and are on the trail of four more suspects.
Someone with a vested interest in finding out what really happened is Kim’s son. Having seen his father’s worst fears realised, Kim Han-Sol (21) now fears for his own life. He and his mother are reportedly in hiding in Macau and are being protected by Chinese authorities.
Sporting black-framed glasses and two earrings in his left ear, Kim’s son spoke about his hopes for his home country in a candid interview a few years ago.
“I’ve always dreamt that one day I’ll go back and make things better, make it easier for all the people there,” Kim HanSol said.
And now as he reels from the news of his father’s traumatic death, that hope is probably burning stronger than ever.