North Korean man arrested in Kuchai Lama over Kim killing

Though the murder of Kim Jong Nam, half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, was initially considered a hit by Pyongyang, the arrest of two women and the secretive attitude of the Malaysian government have sown confusion over what really transpired at Kuala Lumpur’s airport on Monday. Police refused to elaborate when asked by correspondents from the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily.

“The Royal Malaysian Police (RMP) arrested a Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) citizen in Selangor”, RMP said in the statement. Based on her personal identification details, the suspect is 25-year-old Siti Aishah.

Malaysia is one of just a handful of countries to have full diplomatic ties with North Korea, with each country having an embassy in the other’s capital.

Three more men are being hunted by police in the investigation into Jong-nam’s murder. In turn, Malaysia imports steel, electronics, iron, and chemicals.

Both suspects were alone and identified from CCTV footage at the airport, said Malaysian authorities.

“He is suspected to be involved in the death of a North Korean male on February 2017″.

While the poisoning of Kim in a very public place conjured up images of spy movies, the plot appears to have been rather unsophisticated, and Malaysian police rounded up the first two suspects relatively quickly.

The newspaper said the masterminds had been tracking their victim’s movements for about a year to establish his travel patterns, which included flying between Macau, Singapore and Malaysia.

All three have been remanded until Tuesday, according to Malaysian media. “She was not aware that it was an assassination attempt by alleged foreign agents”.

After she wore the gloves, the men smeared an ointment on them, which the woman used to rub on Kim’s face.

Kim Jong-Nam, the eldest son of the late North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il, had spoken out publicly against his family’s dynastic control of the isolated nation.

The suspects are on remand for seven days since Thursday.

Kim’s body was being held at Kuala Lumpur Hospital following an autopsy, the results of which have not yet been released. But, he says, that would require cooperation from China, North Korea’s main ally.

They were at the eatery from 7.30am until the attack was carried out. North Korea, he stressed, must abide by the provisions of the law set by Malaysia, and should seek advice from its lawyers if it disagreed with the action by the police.

The case is still under investigation by police.

“Kim Jong-nam has nothing to do with [North] Korea”, the anonymous source said. It added that Kim Jong Nam, 45, was in Singapore recently.