North Korea embassy official a suspect in Kim Jong Nam's death
A North Korean Embassy official is among eight North Korean suspects in the fatal poisoning of leader Kim Jong Un's estranged half-brother, Malaysia's police chief said Wednesday.
Khalid Abu Bakar, inspector-general of police, said at a news conference that he couldn’t confirm whether North Korea’s government was behind the Feb. 13 death of Kim Jong Nam at Kuala Lumpur airport, but he said, “what’s clear is that those involved are North Koreans," the Associated Press reported.
Bakar said four North Koreans suspected of involvement are believed to have fled the same day and are back in their homeland. One North Korean suspect is in custody; three are believed to be at large in Malaysia, including the second secretary of the North Korean Embassy, according to AP.
Bakar also added that the two female suspects in the incident were trained to wipe toxin on the victim's face, then wash their hands.
No cause of death has yet been officially determined for Kim.
An autopsy showed no evidence of a heart attack or any sign of puncture wounds, Noor Hisham Abdullah, the director general of the ministry of health, told reporters Tuesday.
When asked if there was any indication that Kim was poisoned, he said medical specimens were sent to experts to determine the cause of death.
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“We have to confirm with the lab report before we can make any conclusive remark,” he said, according to AP .
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