Malaysia says will issue arrest warrant for North Korean diplomat in Kim Jong Nam murder

[February 25, 2017]  By Christophe Van Der Perre and Ebrahim Harris

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia said on Saturday it would issue an arrest warrant for a North Korean diplomat wanted for questioning over the murder of Kim Jong Nam if he doesn't voluntarily cooperate with the police.

Earlier this week, Malaysia said 44-year-old Hyon Kwang Song, a second secretary at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur, was wanted for questioning over the death of the estranged half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

"Reasonable" time will be given for the diplomat to come forward before police take further action, said Abdul Samah Mat, the police chief for Selangor state.

Samah said if the person concerned did not cooperate the police would issue a notice under Malaysian law, "compelling" them to appear before the investigation team.

"And if he failed to turn up upon given this notice, then we will go to the next step by getting a warrant of arrest from the court," he told reporters.

It was unclear if the embassy official can be detained since police have said he has diplomatic immunity.

Eight North Koreans are wanted in connection with the case, including the diplomat. One has been detained by the Malaysian police, four are believed to have fled to North Korea, while two are still in Malaysia.

Police are trying to locate the eight suspect, another North Korean, Ri Ji U, whose whereabouts are unknown, Samah said on Saturday.

Kim Jong Nam was murdered on Feb. 13 at the Kuala Lumpur international airport with VX nerve agent, a chemical classified by the United Nations as a weapon of mass destruction, Malaysian police said on Friday.

Two women - one Indonesian and one Vietnamese - have also been detained. Police had said on Friday that one of them had suffered from the effects of VX and had been vomiting.

Indonesian embassy officials met with their national Siti Aishah on Saturday and said she had been paid 400 Malaysian ringgit ($90.15) to participate in what she believed was a prank.

Malaysia's Royal Police Chief Khalid Abu Bakar (C) speaks next to a screen showing North Korean Hyon Kwang Song during a news conference regarding the apparent assassination of Kim Jong Nam, the half-brother of the North Korean leader, at the Malaysian police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, February 22, 2017. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

"She only said in general that somebody asked her to do this activity...She said she was given a kind of oil, like baby oil," Indonesian deputy ambassador Andreano Erwin told reporters after meeting Aishah, adding that no charges have been brought against her yet.

Vietnamese officials also met with their national but declined to comment.

Footage released earlier this week by Japanese broadcaster Fuji TV appears to show two women lunge at the victim as he prepared to board a flight to the Chinese territory of Macau.

They are seen grabbing at his face and then quickly walking away in different directions. Later clips show the victim asking airport officials for medical help.

Malaysian police have said the two women had rehearsed the attack before carrying it out and had been instructed to wash their hands afterwards.

Samah also confirmed that authorities raided an apartment in an upscale Kuala Lumpur suburb earlier this week in connection with the killing.

Investigators were still looking for any traces of chemicals in the apartment, he added.

Authorities are also sweeping locations that the suspects may have visited for chemicals, Samah said.

(Writing by A. Ananthalakshmi and Kanupriya Kapoor; Editing by Kim Coghill & Shri Navaratnam)

[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.