Malaysia requests Interpol alert on four
North Koreans over airport murder
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[February 23, 2017]
By Rozanna Latiff
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia has
requested Interpol to put an alert out to apprehend four North Korean
suspects in the murder of the estranged half brother of North Korean
leader Kim Jong Un, Malaysia's police chief said on Thursday.
Kim Jong Nam, who was killed in Kuala Lumpur's main airport on Feb. 13,
had spoken out publicly in the past against his family's dynastic
control of the isolated, nuclear-armed state.
South Korean and U.S. officials say he was assassinated by North Korean
agents. North Korea has not acknowledged his death.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Malaysian police chief Khalid Abu
Bakar said the two women - one Vietnamese, one Indonesian - arrested
last week had been paid for carrying out the fatal assault on Kim Jong
Nam using a fast-acting poison.
He declined to say if they had been used by a foreign intelligence
agency.
Police are also holding one North Korean man, but are seeking another
seven in connection with the murder.
Hyon Kwang Song, a second secretary at the North Korean embassy in Kuala
Lumpur, and Kim Uk Il, an employee of state-owned airline Air Koryo, are
among three North Koreans wanted for questioning who are still believed
to be in Malaysia.
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Khalid told reporters that a request had been made to Interpol to put
out an alert to apprehend the other four, who are believed to have made
their way back to North Korea, having fled Malaysia on the day of the
killing..
Khalid said a police request has been sent to the North Korean embassy
requesting to interview the diplomat and airline employee.
"If you have nothing to hide, you should not be afraid to cooperate, you
should cooperate," Khalid said.
He said an arrest warrant would not be issued for the embassy official,
as he has diplomatic immunity, but that "the process of the law will
take place" if the airline official does not come forward.
Earlier on Thursday, an official from the North Korea embassy in Kuala
Lumpur said no formal request to interview either man had been received,
and he did not respond when asked if the embassy would cooperate should
it receive one.
Meantime, Indonesia has sought consular access to Siti Aishah, the
Indonesian woman held in detention.
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![](../images/022317pics/news_o27.jpg)
Kim Jong Nam arrives at Beijing airport in Beijing, China, in this
photo taken by Kyodo February 11, 2007. Picture taken February 11,
2007. Kyodo/via REUTERS
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"I have instructed our foreign minister to provide assistance...and
protection to Siti Aishah through a lawyer. So there can be some
clarity on whether or not she is a victim," Indonesian President
Joko Widodo said in Jakarta.
DIPLOMATIC ROW
A friendship between Malaysia and North Korea, going back to the
1970s, has soured in the wake of Kim Jong Nam's murder.
North Korea unsuccessfully tried to prevent an autopsy, accusing
Malaysia of working with South Korean and other "hostile forces."
Malaysia responded by recalling its ambassador to Pyongyang for
consultations.
North Korea's ambassador to Kuala Lumpur has said the Malaysian
investigation cannot be trusted, and that the three suspects that
have been detained should be released immediately.
And on Thursday, North Korea's state-run KCNA news agency reported
that Pyongyang blamed Malaysia for its citizen's death and accused
it of adopting an "unfriendly attitude".
The KCNA report only referred to the murder victim as a "citizen",
as Pyongyang rejects reports that it is the half brother of the
country's leader.
Malaysian police have still to receive DNA samples from Kim Jong
Nam's next of kin, Khalid said. He also denied that Malaysian police
officers had been sent to Macau, the Chinese territory where Kim
Jong Nam and his family had been living under Beijing's protection.
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(Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; Writing by A. Ananthalakshmi; Editing
by Simon Cameron-Moore)
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