North Korea demands body of slain brother

North Korea broke its dayslong silence over the assassination of its leader’s half brother, demanding that Malaysian officials surrender the body.

North Korea broke a dayslong silence Friday over the assassination of its leader’s estranged half brother in Malaysia, demanding that Malaysian authorities surrender the body and vowing to reject any post-mortem they have conducted.

The response, in a statement by the North Korean ambassador to Malaysia, Kang Chol, also accused the Malaysians of plotting to “besmirch” the North over the assassination, heightening tensions between the two countries.

The statement was read to reporters outside a Kuala Lumpur hospital where the body of Kim Jong Nam, the half brother of the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, has been held since he was stricken Monday at the airport in the Malaysian capital.

At least three people have been arrested in connection with the killing, which was believed to have been carried out by two women who struck Kim Jong Nam with poisoned needles or sloshed quick-acting liquid poison on his face as he awaited a flight to Macau, where he lived with his family.

South Korean officials have said they suspect the assassination was ordered by Kim Jong Un as part of his effort to consolidate power in the reclusive country, run by his family for nearly seven decades.

Malaysian news media on Thursday quoted officials as saying that the North Korean government had requested the body.

There had been no direct comment from the North Korean side until the ambassador’s statement on Friday, which did not identify the body as that of Kim Jong Nam.

But the statement, quoted by news agencies at the scene, said that the “Malaysian side forced the post-mortem without our permission and witnessing,” and that “we will categorically reject the result of the post-mortem conducted unilaterally excluding our attendance.”