North Korea: Release 3 detained in Jong Nam case
North Korean Embassy also accuses Malaysian authorities of collaborating with South Korea in identifying the victim and disregarding the embassy’s own confirmation.
KUALA LUMPUR: The North Korean embassy here said today the three suspects detained in the connection with the murder of Kim Jong Nam should be immediately released.
A Vietnamese woman, an Indonesian woman and a North Korean man have been “arrested unreasonably”, the embassy said in a statement released to the media.
Malaysian police said a senior official in the North Korean embassy and a staffer at its state airline, were also wanted for questioning over the murder.
Kim Jong Nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, was killed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (klia2) on Feb 13 while preparing to board a flight to Macau.
A woman was reported to have sprayed a rapid-acting poison at him while another covered his face with a piece of cloth.
In the strongly-worded statement, the North Korean embassy said investigations into Jong Nam’s killing should have focused on determining the cause of death and the two female suspects.
Instead, it said Malaysian authorities had only “targeted” the North Korean suspect, Ri Jong Chol, who was arrested on Feb 17.
The embassy also accused Malaysia of relying on South Korea in confirming the identity of the victim.
“The action of requesting for the presence of the victim’s next of kin for the purpose of identification and a DNA test took no regard of our confirmation of the identity of the deceased DPRK citizen.”
North Korea had earlier identified the victim as Kim Chol, the name under which Jong Nam had been travelling.
The embassy said this was extremely insulting to the republic, “an illegal act infringing on international laws and customs and diplomatic privileges” and proof that Malaysia was siding with South Korea.
It added that if Malaysia was not working with South Korea, it should respect North Korea in the investigation.
In the same statement, the embassy questioned the police ruling that the two female suspects had known it was a poison attack and it was not a prank.
Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar had earlier today said the suspects had moved to wash their hands after the attack, indicating that they knew the substance sprayed on Jong Nam’s face was toxic.
Calling the explanation a “delusion”, North Korea asked how the women could still be alive after the attack if the liquid was indeed poisonous.
“This means that the liquid they daubed for a joke is not a poison and that there is another cause of death.”
The embassy also refuted remarks by Foreign Affairs Minister Anifah Aman that earlier comments by North Korean ambassador Kang Chol were based on “delusions, lies and half-truths”.
“From the very beginning of this incident, the mutual contacts, notifications and stances towards the incident are absolutely true as they are,” it said.
The four detained so far by police in Jong Nam’s death are a Vietnamese named Doan Thi Huong, Siti Aisyah (an Indonesian), Muhammad Farid Jallaludin (a Malaysian) and Ri Jong Chul (from North Korea).
Four other male suspects, all North Korean, fled the country on the same day of the murder, police said. They have been identified as Ri Ji Hyon, Hong Song Hac, O Jong Gil and Ri Jae Nam.
Female suspects in Jong Nam killing knew it was poison attack
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