Malaysia to charge two women in murder of Kim Jong Nam

The Malaysian police have no problem sharing evidence with the United Nations (UN) on the lethal VX nerve agent that was used in the murder of Mr Kim Jong Nam.

Kim Jong Nam, the estranged older half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, was killed in the attack with VX, an internationally banned nerve agent, in the budget airline terminal of Kuala Lumpur airport on February 13. Both women have told police they believed they were participating in a prank for a reality TV show.

The former North Korean ambassador also said he wants the release of a North Korean scientist arrested in connection with the killing. No decision has been made over whether to charge two other suspects, a Malaysian who is out on bail and a North Korean who remains in custody.

Kim’s killing took place amid crowds of travelers at Kuala Lumpur’s airport and appeared to be a well-planned hit.

The two women allegedly smeared the deadly VX nerve agent on Mr Kim’s face just before he was to board a flight to Macau. “From the time of the onset, he died within 15 to 20 minutes”.

According to the National Intelligence Service (NIS), four of the eight suspects behind the murder were employees of Pyongyang’s Ministry of State Security while two others were from the Foreign Ministry.

Malaysia is considering shutting its embassy in Pyongyang or expelling North Korea’s envoy as tensions escalate over the killing.

While Malaysia has confirmed the identity of the body as that of Kim Jong Nam, North Korea has refused to do so, referring to him as Kim Chol, which was the name on the diplomatic passport he was carrying.

Worldwide newswire Reuters reported earlier this week that Glocom in Brickfields is a front company for North Korean intelligence agents selling their battlefield radios in violation of United Nations sanctions.

He reportedly said that not a single unit of the radios were sold as there were no buyers.

“We have also taken all necessary actions to comply with worldwide regulations with regards to related sanctions”, Khalid said in a statement.

The well-travelled and multilingual oldest son of late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, Kong Jong-nam was once considered a potential future leader.

Asked how long Malaysia can keep Kim Jong Nam’s body at the morgue, he said “we can keep (it) as long as we want”.

“We are also not anxious about the impact of the killing and the investigations to Malaysia’s image, especially as negative allegations made against us have come from a nation suspected of being behind the killing”, Zahid was quoted as saying by NST.