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| Kim Jong-un’s Half Brother Is Reported Assassinated in Malaysia | Kim Jong-un’s Half Brother Is Reported Assassinated in Malaysia |
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| SEOUL, South Korea — He seemed like an ordinary passenger in the departure hall of the airport for Malaysia’s capital, awaiting a four-hour flight to Macau. Moments later, he felt dizzy and was carried out on a stretcher, apparently dying from poisoned-needle punctures or perhaps a toxic liquid splashed on his face by two women who ran away. | SEOUL, South Korea — He seemed like an ordinary passenger in the departure hall of the airport for Malaysia’s capital, awaiting a four-hour flight to Macau. Moments later, he felt dizzy and was carried out on a stretcher, apparently dying from poisoned-needle punctures or perhaps a toxic liquid splashed on his face by two women who ran away. |
| The ruckus caused by the man’s death on Monday at the international airport for Kuala Lumpur was minor news until a thunderbolt from the South Korean and Malaysian news media a day later: The victim was Kim Jong-nam, 45, the estranged older half brother of Kim Jong-un, the unpredictable and ruthless leader of North Korea. | The ruckus caused by the man’s death on Monday at the international airport for Kuala Lumpur was minor news until a thunderbolt from the South Korean and Malaysian news media a day later: The victim was Kim Jong-nam, 45, the estranged older half brother of Kim Jong-un, the unpredictable and ruthless leader of North Korea. |
| The death immediately turned into an international assassination intrigue connected to the opaque regime of the Kim family, which has ruled North Korea for more than 60 years. | The death immediately turned into an international assassination intrigue connected to the opaque regime of the Kim family, which has ruled North Korea for more than 60 years. |
| It came as Kim Jong-un, 33, who has ordered scores of subordinates executed when he questioned their fealty, has further shaken up the ranks of his closest aides, purging the chief of the secret police less than two weeks ago. In addition, Kim Jong-un has stoked a new international crisis with a ballistic missile launching and threats of more nuclear weapons tests. | |
| The South Korean news channel TV Chosun said that two women had stabbed Kim Jong-nam with poisoned needles and fled in a taxi and that the local police were searching for them. The Star, a Malaysian newspaper, quoted the police as saying the victim had sought help from a departure hall receptionist after someone “grabbed him from behind and splashed liquid on his face.” | The South Korean news channel TV Chosun said that two women had stabbed Kim Jong-nam with poisoned needles and fled in a taxi and that the local police were searching for them. The Star, a Malaysian newspaper, quoted the police as saying the victim had sought help from a departure hall receptionist after someone “grabbed him from behind and splashed liquid on his face.” |
| He died as medics rushed him to a hospital. | He died as medics rushed him to a hospital. |
| Political experts on North Korea’s politics immediately speculated that Kim Jong-un had ordered the assassination of his older half sibling, who at one time had been the heir apparent and had been favored by China, the country’s ally and principal benefactor. | Political experts on North Korea’s politics immediately speculated that Kim Jong-un had ordered the assassination of his older half sibling, who at one time had been the heir apparent and had been favored by China, the country’s ally and principal benefactor. |
| “Maybe Kim Jong-nam was about to do something drastic that would either compromise the regime or the family,” said Jae H. Ku, director of the U.S.-Korea Institute at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. “By the nature of things in North Korea, the fact that he is in the bloodline represented a threat.” | “Maybe Kim Jong-nam was about to do something drastic that would either compromise the regime or the family,” said Jae H. Ku, director of the U.S.-Korea Institute at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. “By the nature of things in North Korea, the fact that he is in the bloodline represented a threat.” |
| Others were even more emphatic in their suspicion that Kim Jong-un had been responsible, partly because Kim Jong-nam had been publicly critical of the transfer of power that made Kim Jong-un the top leader after the death of their father, Kim Jong-il, in 2011. | Others were even more emphatic in their suspicion that Kim Jong-un had been responsible, partly because Kim Jong-nam had been publicly critical of the transfer of power that made Kim Jong-un the top leader after the death of their father, Kim Jong-il, in 2011. |
| “The apparent murder today of Kim Jong-nam in Malaysia by agents of his brother is the latest explosive turn in Pyongyang’s vicious palace intrigue,” said Nicholas Eberstadt, a political economist who specializes in North and South Korea at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington. “The question remains: Do these deadly measures secure his rule or serve to undermine it?” | “The apparent murder today of Kim Jong-nam in Malaysia by agents of his brother is the latest explosive turn in Pyongyang’s vicious palace intrigue,” said Nicholas Eberstadt, a political economist who specializes in North and South Korea at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington. “The question remains: Do these deadly measures secure his rule or serve to undermine it?” |
| There also was speculation that Kim Jong-un might have ordered Kim Jong-nam killed because China might have been planning to support him as a replacement for Kim Jong-un, who has angered Chinese leaders with his provocative weapons and missile tests. | There also was speculation that Kim Jong-un might have ordered Kim Jong-nam killed because China might have been planning to support him as a replacement for Kim Jong-un, who has angered Chinese leaders with his provocative weapons and missile tests. |
| “Kim Jong-nam reportedly has been Beijing’s favorite, which may mean one day the Chinese Communist Party may overthrow Kim Jong-un and install Kim Jong-nam,” said Lee Sung-yoon, a North Korea expert at Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. | “Kim Jong-nam reportedly has been Beijing’s favorite, which may mean one day the Chinese Communist Party may overthrow Kim Jong-un and install Kim Jong-nam,” said Lee Sung-yoon, a North Korea expert at Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. |
| The Royal Malaysia Police identified the dead man as Kim Chol, an alias that South Korean officials said had been used by Kim Jong-nam. A police statement said the cause of death was under investigation. | The Royal Malaysia Police identified the dead man as Kim Chol, an alias that South Korean officials said had been used by Kim Jong-nam. A police statement said the cause of death was under investigation. |
| There was no immediate comment from South Korea’s National Intelligence Service and its Unification Ministry. North Korea’s state-run media also said nothing. | There was no immediate comment from South Korea’s National Intelligence Service and its Unification Ministry. North Korea’s state-run media also said nothing. |
| Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of Kim Jong-il, had been widely considered next in line to succeed him until 2001, when he was caught trying to take his son to Tokyo Disneyland with a fake visa. He was detained for several days, then deported to China. | Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of Kim Jong-il, had been widely considered next in line to succeed him until 2001, when he was caught trying to take his son to Tokyo Disneyland with a fake visa. He was detained for several days, then deported to China. |
| Other analysts in South Korea say Kim Jong-nam fell out of the succession race after his mother, Sung Hae-rim, was rejected by the North Korean leader, who favored Kim Jong-un’s mother, Ko Young-hee. Ms. Ko and Kim Jong-il had another son, Kim Jong-chol, who was seen at an Eric Clapton concert in London in 2015. | |
| North Korea began grooming Kim Jong-un as heir after his father had a stroke in 2008. As his youngest brother consolidated power, Kim Jong-nam lived in semi-exile abroad. Until recently, he was sometimes seen in Macau. TV Chosun said he had also been visiting Singapore and Malaysia, where he had girlfriends. | |
| Kim Jong-nam’s son, Kim Han-sol, had once studied in Bosnia and later in France. In an interview with a European television channel in 2012, the son said he did not know how his uncle, Kim Jong-un, “became a dictator.” | Kim Jong-nam’s son, Kim Han-sol, had once studied in Bosnia and later in France. In an interview with a European television channel in 2012, the son said he did not know how his uncle, Kim Jong-un, “became a dictator.” |
| Kim Jong-nam was once questioned in Macau by a reporter about the likelihood that his half brother would take over, and he seemed to accept his fate. | Kim Jong-nam was once questioned in Macau by a reporter about the likelihood that his half brother would take over, and he seemed to accept his fate. |
| “It is my father’s decision,” he said. “So, once he decides, we have to support.” | “It is my father’s decision,” he said. “So, once he decides, we have to support.” |
| But at other times, he was critical of Kim Jong-un’s ascendance. | But at other times, he was critical of Kim Jong-un’s ascendance. |
| “I believe that my father originally was against the notion of a third generation succeeding him,” Kim Jong-nam, interviewed in November 2010, told the Japanese journalist Yoji Gomi in the book “My Father, Kim Jong-il, and I.” “There must have been some internal reasons that made him change his mind.” | “I believe that my father originally was against the notion of a third generation succeeding him,” Kim Jong-nam, interviewed in November 2010, told the Japanese journalist Yoji Gomi in the book “My Father, Kim Jong-il, and I.” “There must have been some internal reasons that made him change his mind.” |
| Kim Jong-nam also once predicted doom for his half brother’s rule while talking to reporters from Japan, North Korea’s sworn enemy. His criticism fueled speculation that China and certain generals in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, might be protecting him in case anything should go wrong with Kim Jong-un’s rule. | Kim Jong-nam also once predicted doom for his half brother’s rule while talking to reporters from Japan, North Korea’s sworn enemy. His criticism fueled speculation that China and certain generals in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, might be protecting him in case anything should go wrong with Kim Jong-un’s rule. |
| Mr. Gomi said in an interview on Tuesday that the last time he had contacted Kim Jong-nam, in January 2012, he had said North Korea should follow China’s economic path. | Mr. Gomi said in an interview on Tuesday that the last time he had contacted Kim Jong-nam, in January 2012, he had said North Korea should follow China’s economic path. |
| China supported Kim Jong-nam financially for many years because if Kim Jong-un died, North Koreans, indoctrinated to venerate the Kim family, would look to Kim Jong-nam to step in as leader, according to Kang Chunnu, 61, a distant relative of the Kim family who lives in Britain. | |
| “Kim Jong-nam is a person which China can control and the North Korean people can trust,” she said by telephone. | “Kim Jong-nam is a person which China can control and the North Korean people can trust,” she said by telephone. |
| There seemed little question in South Korea that Kim Jong-un was behind his half brother’s death. | There seemed little question in South Korea that Kim Jong-un was behind his half brother’s death. |
| A spokesman for South Korea’s governing Liberty Korea Party, Kim Myung-yeon, said the killing was a “naked example of Kim Jong-un’s reign of terror.” | A spokesman for South Korea’s governing Liberty Korea Party, Kim Myung-yeon, said the killing was a “naked example of Kim Jong-un’s reign of terror.” |
| Since taking power, Mr. Kim has executed more than 140 senior party and military officials deemed a threat to his authority, often ordering them killed by machine guns and even flamethrowers, according to the Institute for National Security Strategy, a research group affiliated with the South’s National Intelligence Service. | Since taking power, Mr. Kim has executed more than 140 senior party and military officials deemed a threat to his authority, often ordering them killed by machine guns and even flamethrowers, according to the Institute for National Security Strategy, a research group affiliated with the South’s National Intelligence Service. |
| Thae Yong-ho, who was the North’s No. 2 diplomat in London until his defection to South Korea last summer, said he had fled partly because of Kim Jong-un’s ruthlessness. | Thae Yong-ho, who was the North’s No. 2 diplomat in London until his defection to South Korea last summer, said he had fled partly because of Kim Jong-un’s ruthlessness. |
| In 2015, South Korean officials said that Gen. Hyon Yong-chol, the defense minister, had been executed with an antiaircraft gun in Pyongyang after dozing off during military events and second-guessing Mr. Kim’s orders. In August last year, they said Mr. Kim found fault with a deputy premier’s “disrespectful posture” during a meeting and had him executed by firing squad. | In 2015, South Korean officials said that Gen. Hyon Yong-chol, the defense minister, had been executed with an antiaircraft gun in Pyongyang after dozing off during military events and second-guessing Mr. Kim’s orders. In August last year, they said Mr. Kim found fault with a deputy premier’s “disrespectful posture” during a meeting and had him executed by firing squad. |
| Relatives were not spared. An uncle and the country’s No. 2 official, Jang Song-thaek, was executed in 2013 on charges of factionalism, corruption and sedition. | Relatives were not spared. An uncle and the country’s No. 2 official, Jang Song-thaek, was executed in 2013 on charges of factionalism, corruption and sedition. |
| Defectors from North Korea live in fear of retaliation. In 1997, Lee Han-young, a nephew of Kim Jong-nam’s mother, was shot and killed in Seoul. South Korean officials suspected that a North Korean agent killed Mr. Lee, who had become a bitter critic of the government in Pyongyang after defecting to Seoul in 1982. | Defectors from North Korea live in fear of retaliation. In 1997, Lee Han-young, a nephew of Kim Jong-nam’s mother, was shot and killed in Seoul. South Korean officials suspected that a North Korean agent killed Mr. Lee, who had become a bitter critic of the government in Pyongyang after defecting to Seoul in 1982. |
| Cheong Seong-chang, a longtime researcher on the Kim family, said that the killing of Kim Jong-nam could have been carried out only on the orders of Kim Jong-un. | |
| Ken E. Gause, a specialist in leadership studies at the CNA Corporation, a research group in Alexandria, Va., said the assassination also might have been meant as a warning to all North Korean expatriates. | Ken E. Gause, a specialist in leadership studies at the CNA Corporation, a research group in Alexandria, Va., said the assassination also might have been meant as a warning to all North Korean expatriates. |
| “Given the recent defections,” he said, “Kim Jong-un felt the need to show that the regime could get to anyone who may be contemplating opposing the regime.” | “Given the recent defections,” he said, “Kim Jong-un felt the need to show that the regime could get to anyone who may be contemplating opposing the regime.” |