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Kim Jong-nam death: Malaysian police arrest female suspect Kim Jong-nam death: Malaysian police arrest female suspect
(about 3 hours later)
Malaysian authorities have detained a woman holding a Vietnamese passport in connection with the death of Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un. Malaysian police have detained a woman holding a Vietnamese passport and are seeking other foreign suspects for an investigation into the apparent assassination of Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un.
The Malaysia inspector general said a 28-year-old woman, Doan Thi Huong, had been positively identified from CCTV footage and was alone at the time of her arrest. A 28-year-old woman, Doan Thi Huong, had been positively identified from CCTV footage and was alone at the time of her arrest, the Malaysia inspector general said.
No other details were immediately available. Malaysian police were not available for comment. The estranged older brother was once considered the heir apparent but lived a life in exile. He told medics at Kuala Lumpur airport on Monday that he was attacked “from behind” by a chemical spray while waiting to board the 10.50pm flight to Macau, where he has lived.
Earlier on Wednesday, South Korea’s spy agency said two women believed to be North Korean operatives had poisoned the 45-year-old exile in a shopping concourse at Kuala Lumpur international airport. He died in an ambulance on the way to hospital. Malaysian government sources claim North Korean officials in Malaysia objected to the autopsy being conducted on the body.
Kim, who had not yet passed through security, was preparing to take a late-morning flight on Monday from the Malaysian capital to his home in Macau when he was allegedly attacked, according to South Korean MPs briefed by security services. The high-profile killing has attracted international intrigue, with South Korea’s spy agency saying on Wednesday that two women, thought to be North Korean operatives, had poisoned the 45-year-old exile.
The theory that Kim had been targeted by spies from the country he left more than 15 years ago gathered pace after Malaysian officials released a CCTV image purporting to show one of the alleged attackers as she waited for a taxi outside the airport shortly after the incident.The theory that Kim had been targeted by spies from the country he left more than 15 years ago gathered pace after Malaysian officials released a CCTV image purporting to show one of the alleged attackers as she waited for a taxi outside the airport shortly after the incident.
CCTV pictures taken from #Malaysia airport showing one of the two women suspected to have killed Kim Jong Nam, half-brother of Kim Jong-Un. pic.twitter.com/otcjrvjYts
The local Malay Mail newspaper also published a grainy photo of a woman it said was suspected by police of involvement in the killing.The local Malay Mail newspaper also published a grainy photo of a woman it said was suspected by police of involvement in the killing.
The image showed a young female, carrying a bag and wearing a white jumper that said “LOL” in large black print across the front. The Guardian has been unable to confirm if the woman is a police suspect. The image showed a young female, carrying a bag and wearing a white jumper that said “LOL” in large black print across the front. It is not clear if this is the same women arrested by police.
Kim, whose father was the late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, claimed to have no political ambitions, but just weeks after his half-brother’s elevation to the leadership in late 2011 he told the Japanese journalist Yoji Gomi that the world would view his leadership as a “joke”. Staff in shops and cafes at the airport said police had ordered everyone working there not to share any information about the attack.
At the medical centre that Kim Jong-nam was rushed to, three officers spoke to nurses on Wednesday morning. At first, he had experienced headache and was on the verge of passing out. Once at the clinic, he appeared to have a mild seizure, authorities say.
Selangor police chief Abdul Samah Mat told the Guardian that Kim Jong-nam had arrived in Malaysia on 6 February, a week before he was attacked.
“He was travelling on a North Korean passport,” he said, adding that a post-mortem was in progress. “It’s up to the pathologists on how long it will take. Sometimes it involves lab tests.”
The attack occurred on Monday morning but it was not until late on Tuesday that police said a 46-year-old North Korean man had died. He was identified from his travel document as Kim Chol, born in Pyongyang.
Kim lived a secretive life and travelled on several forged passports, most famously in 2001 when he used a fake Dominican Republic ID to enter Japan. He had told Japanese immigration officials that he was planning to visit Disneyland in Tokyo.
The incident caused embarrassment to his late father, Kim Jong-il, which observers say led to his exile, living between Macau, China and Singapore, with some level of protection provided by Beijing, which has an uneasy relationship with North Korea.
Malaysian police at the airport's first aid centre where Kim Jong-nam went after he said he was attacked with chemical spray pic.twitter.com/I1XYojiYTk
South Korean intelligence officials have said the regime had been planning his assassination for five years.
Kim Jong-nam claimed to have no political ambitions and appeared to have few links with senior generals in North Korea that might make him seem a threat to Kim Jong-un’s rule.
However, just weeks after his half-brother’s elevation to the isolated nation’s highest office in late 2011, he told the Japanese journalist Yoji Gomi that the world would view his leadership as a “joke”.
Two years earlier, he told Japan’s TV Asahi that he “personally opposed” the hereditary transfer of power in his family.Two years earlier, he told Japan’s TV Asahi that he “personally opposed” the hereditary transfer of power in his family.
South Korean intelligence officials claimed the regime had been planning his assassination for five years, but did not explain why they thought that was the case. CCTV pictures taken from #Malaysia airport showing one of the two women suspected to have killed Kim Jong Nam, half-brother of Kim Jong-Un. pic.twitter.com/otcjrvjYts
Kim Jong-nam had told airport workers that someone had attacked him “from behind” and sprayed him in the face with an unknown liquid. He died in an ambulance on the way to hospital. The Pyongyang government has not commented. But, equally, it has not hid its interest in the case, sending a black Jaguar Sedan with diplomatic number plates and flags to the mortuary at Kuala Lumpur hospital, where an autopsy was being conducted.
“He told the receptionist at the departure hall that someone had grabbed his face from behind and splashed some liquid on him,” said Selangor state’s criminal investigation chief, Fadzil Ahmat, according to Malaysia’s The Star newspaper.
“He asked for help and was immediately sent to the airport’s clinic. At this point, he was experiencing headache and was on the verge of passing out. At the clinic, the victim experienced a mild seizure. He was put into an ambulance and was being taken to the Putrajaya hospital when he was pronounced dead.”
Malaysian police initially confirmed the death of a 45-year-old North Korean man whom it identified from his travel document as Kim Chol, born in Pyongyang. “Investigation is in progress and a postmortem examination request has been made to ascertain the cause of death,” an earlier statement said.
The head of Kuala Lumpur hospital’s forensics department, Mohamad Shah Mahmood, was taking part in the autopsy, according to Agence France-Presse.
Outside the forensics department, a black Jaguar sedan bearing the North Korean flag pulled up on Wednesday afternoon, followed by another vehicle.
Two men who emerged from the vehicles declined to speak to waiting media as they entered the building.Two men who emerged from the vehicles declined to speak to waiting media as they entered the building.
“The investigation is in progress. It covers everything including hunting down the possible suspects,” said Abdul Samah Mat, the chief of police of Selangor state, which surrounds the capital. Malaysia’s deputy inspector general, Noor Rashid Ibrahim, told Reuters that police were still “looking for a few others, all foreigners”.
Reuters contributed to this report