North Korea blames South over Kim killing

Pyongyang rebuffs Malaysian police investigation result

North Korea denied its involvement in the death of Kim Jong-nam, Thursday, calling Seoul’s claims that Pyongyang was behind the incident a conspiracy against the North.

In its first official comment on the murder, North Korea also accused Malaysia of having infringed on its sovereignty and human rights, rebuffing the results of the Malaysian police’s investigation into the case.

Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was killed after being poisoned by two women as he was preparing to board a flight at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Feb. 13. At least eight North Korean nationals were involved in the assassination, according to Malaysian police.

The North, however, has called the case the death of “a citizen of the DPRK bearing a diplomatic passport” through its Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), without mentioning the name of Kim Jong-nam. It said the person “fell into a state of shock before boarding an airliner and died on the way to a hospital in Malaysia.”

Since the case broke out, the North has been claiming that the person who died was not Kim Jong-nam but a diplomat named Kim Chol.

The South Korean government said it is “certain” that the victim was Kim Jong-nam, considering video footage and the fact that he had used the alias of Kim Chol many times.

The KCNA said after the incident, Malaysia’s foreign ministry and the hospital “confirmed he had died of a heart stroke and decided to transfer his body to the embassy exercising its right to consular protection of DPRK citizens.”

After South Korean “conservative media” published reports that he was “poisoned to death by two women agents of the General Reconnaissance Bureau of North Korea,” the Malaysian police “recklessly made it an established fact,” the KCNA said.

It said Malaysia pushed for an autopsy of the body without any prior agreement with the North and its representatives.

“Moreover, the Malaysian side clamored for a second autopsy without publishing the results of the first autopsy,” the KCNA said, claiming “the unjust acts of the Malaysian side are timed to coincide with the anti-DPRK conspiratorial racket launched by the South Korean authorities.”

It claimed that South Korean authorities have shown “excessive responses” to the case and that they openly discussed the deployment of a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system.

“This proves that the South Korean authorities have long expected the case since it worked out a scenario for it,” it said.

On the matter related to the transfer of the body, the isolated state claimed that the Malaysian side is going to politicize the issue for “sinister purposes.”

“It has not yet handed the body over under the absurd pretext that it cannot do so unless the family of the deceased presents a DNA sample in accordance with its law,” the KCNA said.

It added that the North has already proposed a joint investigation into the incident and clarified that it is ready to dispatch a delegation.

North Korean Ambassador to Malaysia Kang Chol earlier said in his press conference that Malaysian government had “something to conceal,” claiming that Malaysia was “colluding and playing to the gallery of external forces.”

China is maintaining a dubious stance on the assassination of Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, in Malaysia last week while international criticism is mounting against Pyongyang.

The Chinese government has only said that Beijing is “closely watching” the situation without commenting on a possible link between the murder and the North Korean leader.

Beijing is keeping mum about allegations that Kim Jong-nam and his family had been under its protection in Macau.

Its state-run media outlets, such as China Central Television and Xinhua News Agency, have not reported in detail about the progress of an investigation by Malaysian police, including a North Korean diplomat who is being treated as a suspect.

This is in contrast to the reactions seen from the Chinese social media and other online communities, where the users have been expressing anger toward the brutality of the North Korean leader and his tyranny.

Analysts said Thursday that the Chinese government’s stance is seen as a bid to not disrupt its ties with North Korea, and at the same maintain its leverage over the internationally-isolated state to better cope with the Beijing-Washington rivalry in the region.

They claimed that China has been overlooking North Korea’s military provocations and inhumane acts, such as nuclear and ballistic missile programs and the execution of Kim Jong-un’s uncle Jang Song-thaek in December 2013.

“Beijing finds it burdensome that admitting its protection of Kim Jong-nam will complicate its rela- tions with Pyongyang although he was killed outside China,” said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies. “Beijing apparently does not want to find itself in the center of the dispute and thus gain international attention.”

Kim Han-kwon, a professor at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, echoed a similar view.

“For China, its biggest interest concerning North Korea is to ensure Pyongyang will remain a buffer zone in its rivalry with the U.S.” he said. “The Beijing-Pyongyang relation will change only if there is a change in the Beijing-Washington rivalry.”

The experts, however, speculated China will be in a dilemma over whether to cooperate with Malaysia in having the Malaysian police officers visit Macau to obtain a DNA sample from Kim Jong-nam’s son, Kim Han-sol.

Kim Jong-nam’s family members are believed to be afraid of flying to Malaysia to verify the murder victim’s identity.

North Korea has been denying that the victim was Kim Jong-nam and that the dead body should be sent back to Pyongyang right away.

It is likely to protest to China if the DNA verification is completed and the victim’s identify is confirmed.

“It will be a tough call for China to make,” Yang said.

Citing China’s efforts to strengthen its ties with Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries, Kim Han-kwon said, “Beijing may not want to ruin its efforts by not cooperating with the DNA verification process.”

“Also, Beijing will not want to prevent such a process and give room for the Donald Trump administration to step up its rhetoric against China for not pressing North Korea hard enough.”