Body of dictator Kim’s brother still in morgue as row deepens

0 Kim Jong-nam’s body remains in Kuala Lumpur The body of the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is still in Malaysia, a minister has said, dismissing reports that the remains of Kim Jong-nam were about to be flown out of the country as part of diplomatic negotiations.

Conflicting reports in local media on Monday said either that Mr Kim’s body was to be cremated and flown to Pyongyang, or that the body was to be sent to Macau where his family is believed to be.

Malaysian health minister Subramaniam Sathasivam said that the body was still in a Kuala Lumpur morgue pending negotiations with North Korea.

The death has sparked a diplomatic dispute, with the countries imposing exit bans on each other’s citizens. Malaysian authorities said Mr Kim was killed on 13 February after two women smeared his face with the banned VX nerve agent at Kuala Lumpur’s airport.

North Korea – widely suspected of being behind the attack – rejects the findings.

About 315 North Koreans are in Malaysia but the focus is on three of the seven North Korean suspects wanted by police in connection with Mr Kim’s death.

Police have said the three men, including the embassy’s second official and a worker with North Korean carrier Air Koryo, are believed to be hiding in the embassy.

Four others left the country on the day of the killing.

Mr Subramaniam said the government will keep the body until a solution is found “to this problem”. Three bodies have been found in Congo’s Central Kasai province two weeks after two UN experts and their colleagues disappeared there, the government said.

Congolese spokesman Lambert Mende told Top Congo FM that the bodies were found on Monday, but did not confirm whether they were those of Michael Sharp of the United States and Zaida Catalan of Sweden.

“To our knowledge, there are no other foreigners who have disappeared in this region,” Mr Mende said.