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| North Korea killing: man and second woman held over death of Kim Jong-nam | North Korea killing: man and second woman held over death of Kim Jong-nam |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A man and a second woman have been arrested in connection with the killing of Kim Jong-nam, the North Korean leader’s half-brother, who was reportedly poisoned by two female assassins as he waited for a flight in Malaysia, police have said. | A man and a second woman have been arrested in connection with the killing of Kim Jong-nam, the North Korean leader’s half-brother, who was reportedly poisoned by two female assassins as he waited for a flight in Malaysia, police have said. |
| The suspects were picked up separately on Wednesday and Thursday. The female suspects were identified using surveillance footage from Kuala Lumpur International airport, where Kim Jong-nam fell ill on Monday morning before dying on the way to the hospital. | The suspects were picked up separately on Wednesday and Thursday. The female suspects were identified using surveillance footage from Kuala Lumpur International airport, where Kim Jong-nam fell ill on Monday morning before dying on the way to the hospital. |
| The Malaysian inspector general said the second female suspect had been identified as Siti Aishah, an Indonesian national. Her birthday was given as 11 February 1992, and place of birth as Serang, Indonesia. It is not clear if her passport was genuine. | The Malaysian inspector general said the second female suspect had been identified as Siti Aishah, an Indonesian national. Her birthday was given as 11 February 1992, and place of birth as Serang, Indonesia. It is not clear if her passport was genuine. |
| Police official Abdul Samah said officers had also detained a Malaysian man, who is believed to be the boyfriend of the second female suspect. | |
| Samah said the man had provided information that led to the arrest of the woman. | Samah said the man had provided information that led to the arrest of the woman. |
| The confirmed arrest of two more suspects follows the detention on Wednesday of 28-year-old woman, whose Vietnamese passport bore the name Doan Thi Huong. | |
| She too had been positively identified from CCTV footage and was alone at the time of her arrest, the inspector general said. Still photos from the video, confirmed as authentic by police, showed a woman in a skirt and long-sleeved white T-shirt with “LOL” emblazoned on it. | She too had been positively identified from CCTV footage and was alone at the time of her arrest, the inspector general said. Still photos from the video, confirmed as authentic by police, showed a woman in a skirt and long-sleeved white T-shirt with “LOL” emblazoned on it. |
| Investigators are trying to piece together the details of a death that set off a torrent of speculation over whether Kim Jong-un dispatched a hit squad to kill his estranged older sibling. | Investigators are trying to piece together the details of a death that set off a torrent of speculation over whether Kim Jong-un dispatched a hit squad to kill his estranged older sibling. |
| An autopsy was finished late Wednesday, but the results have not been released. | An autopsy was finished late Wednesday, but the results have not been released. |
| Malaysian police have reportedly been granted permission to remand both women in custody for seven days. | Malaysian police have reportedly been granted permission to remand both women in custody for seven days. |
| Police are also seeking “a few” other suspects in connection with the killing of Kim Jong-nam, apparently carried out with a fast-acting poison, as he prepared to board a flight from Kuala Lumpur to his home in Macau on Monday morning. | Police are also seeking “a few” other suspects in connection with the killing of Kim Jong-nam, apparently carried out with a fast-acting poison, as he prepared to board a flight from Kuala Lumpur to his home in Macau on Monday morning. |
| “We are looking for more suspects,” Selangor state police chief Abdul Samah Mat said, but declined to say how many were being sought, or their nationalities. | “We are looking for more suspects,” Selangor state police chief Abdul Samah Mat said, but declined to say how many were being sought, or their nationalities. |
| Intelligence officials in South Korea have said they suspect Kim’s killing was carried out by people working on behalf of the North Korean regime. | Intelligence officials in South Korea have said they suspect Kim’s killing was carried out by people working on behalf of the North Korean regime. |
| There is mounting speculation that his death was ordered by Kim Jong-un, possibly as retribution for criticisms his elder brother made against his leadership in interviews with the Japanese journalist, Yoji Gomi, in 2012. | There is mounting speculation that his death was ordered by Kim Jong-un, possibly as retribution for criticisms his elder brother made against his leadership in interviews with the Japanese journalist, Yoji Gomi, in 2012. |
| As Malaysian authorities searched for other suspects in a case that has focused attention on the apparent lengths to which North Korea will go to ensure the regime’s stability. | As Malaysian authorities searched for other suspects in a case that has focused attention on the apparent lengths to which North Korea will go to ensure the regime’s stability. |
| Malaysian media cited unnamed sources as saying that North Korean officials had spent hours trying to persuade Malaysia not to conduct an autopsy and for Kim’s body be handed over to Pyongyang. | Malaysian media cited unnamed sources as saying that North Korean officials had spent hours trying to persuade Malaysia not to conduct an autopsy and for Kim’s body be handed over to Pyongyang. |
| Malaysia refused the request, since North Korea did not submit a formal protest, according to Abdul Samah Mat, a senior Malaysian police official. However, Malaysian authorities confirmed on Thursday that the man was Kim Jong-nam and that his body would be taken to North Korea after the autopsy. | Malaysia refused the request, since North Korea did not submit a formal protest, according to Abdul Samah Mat, a senior Malaysian police official. However, Malaysian authorities confirmed on Thursday that the man was Kim Jong-nam and that his body would be taken to North Korea after the autopsy. |
| While Pyongyang has made no official comment on Kim’s death, it has not attempted to conceal its interest in his fate. On Wednesday, it sent a black Jaguar car with diplomatic number plates and flags to the mortuary at Kuala Lumpur hospital, where an autopsy was conducted on Wednesday evening. | While Pyongyang has made no official comment on Kim’s death, it has not attempted to conceal its interest in his fate. On Wednesday, it sent a black Jaguar car with diplomatic number plates and flags to the mortuary at Kuala Lumpur hospital, where an autopsy was conducted on Wednesday evening. |
| It was not immediately clear if or when the autopsy results would be made public. | It was not immediately clear if or when the autopsy results would be made public. |
| Kim, who was 45, fell ill after apparently being attacked from behind with a chemical spray, and died in an ambulance on the way to hospital. | Kim, who was 45, fell ill after apparently being attacked from behind with a chemical spray, and died in an ambulance on the way to hospital. |
| At the time of his death he was carrying a North Korean passport that gave his name as Kim Chol, born in Pyongyang on 10 June 1970. | At the time of his death he was carrying a North Korean passport that gave his name as Kim Chol, born in Pyongyang on 10 June 1970. |
| His death has sparked speculation about the possible involvement of Kim Jong-un, whose five-year rule of North Korea has been marked by purges and executions of people perceived as a threat to his leadership. | |
| The highest-profile victim of Kim’s “reign of terror” was his uncle, Jang Song-thaek, who was executed on treason charges in late 2013. Jang, once considered his nephew’s most trusted adviser, was also believed to have been close to Kim Jong-nam, whom he had helped raise. | The highest-profile victim of Kim’s “reign of terror” was his uncle, Jang Song-thaek, who was executed on treason charges in late 2013. Jang, once considered his nephew’s most trusted adviser, was also believed to have been close to Kim Jong-nam, whom he had helped raise. |
| Kim Jong-nam attempted to lead an unremarkable life with his family in Macau, according to exchanges with Gomi. | Kim Jong-nam attempted to lead an unremarkable life with his family in Macau, according to exchanges with Gomi. |
| “Because I was educated in the west, I was able to enjoy freedom from early age and I still love being free,” he told Gomi, whose book on Kim was published in 2012. “The reason I visit Macau so often is because it’s the most free and liberal place near China, where my family lives.” | “Because I was educated in the west, I was able to enjoy freedom from early age and I still love being free,” he told Gomi, whose book on Kim was published in 2012. “The reason I visit Macau so often is because it’s the most free and liberal place near China, where my family lives.” |
| Kim Byung-kee, a South Korean MP, said intelligence services had told him Kim Jong-un professed to “hate” his half brother, whom he feared could one day play a role in the overthrow of his regime. | Kim Byung-kee, a South Korean MP, said intelligence services had told him Kim Jong-un professed to “hate” his half brother, whom he feared could one day play a role in the overthrow of his regime. |
| The spy agency’s has also made unverified claims that North Korea had spent five years attempting to kill Kim Jong-nam. | The spy agency’s has also made unverified claims that North Korea had spent five years attempting to kill Kim Jong-nam. |
| They cited a “genuine” attempt in 2012 after he had described his brother as “just a nominal figure”, and lambasted the county’s hereditary transfer of power as a “joke to the outside world”. | |
| “The Kim Jong-un regime will not last long,” he told Gomi. “Without reforms, North Korea will collapse, and when such changes take place, the regime will collapse.” | “The Kim Jong-un regime will not last long,” he told Gomi. “Without reforms, North Korea will collapse, and when such changes take place, the regime will collapse.” |
| A terrified Kim is reported to have written to Kim Kong-un after the 2012 assassination attempt in which he pleaded with his brother to assure his safety and that of his family. | A terrified Kim is reported to have written to Kim Kong-un after the 2012 assassination attempt in which he pleaded with his brother to assure his safety and that of his family. |
| The letter said: “I hope you cancel the order for the punishment of me and my family. We have nowhere to go, nowhere to hide, and we know that the only way to escape is committing suicide.” | The letter said: “I hope you cancel the order for the punishment of me and my family. We have nowhere to go, nowhere to hide, and we know that the only way to escape is committing suicide.” |
| Kim Jong-nam may have succeeded his father, Kim Jong-il, had he not embarrassed the regime in May 2001 with an attempt to enter Japan on a faked Dominican Republic passport. | Kim Jong-nam may have succeeded his father, Kim Jong-il, had he not embarrassed the regime in May 2001 with an attempt to enter Japan on a faked Dominican Republic passport. |
| Kim, accompanied by his wife, another woman believed to be a nanny, and his four-year-old son, were attempting to visit Tokyo Disneyland. They were sent back to North Korea via Beijing, but the incident appears to have ended any hopes Kim had of succeeding his father. | Kim, accompanied by his wife, another woman believed to be a nanny, and his four-year-old son, were attempting to visit Tokyo Disneyland. They were sent back to North Korea via Beijing, but the incident appears to have ended any hopes Kim had of succeeding his father. |
| Before his death, he reportedly led a comfortable life touring the casinos of Macau, indulging his love of French and Portuguese wine, and staying at luxury hotels across Asia. | Before his death, he reportedly led a comfortable life touring the casinos of Macau, indulging his love of French and Portuguese wine, and staying at luxury hotels across Asia. |
| He moved around Macau without bodyguards, but the fear of assassination was never far from his thoughts, according to a resident of the former Portuguese colony who, along with other locals, referred to Kim as “John”. | He moved around Macau without bodyguards, but the fear of assassination was never far from his thoughts, according to a resident of the former Portuguese colony who, along with other locals, referred to Kim as “John”. |
| The South China Morning Post quoted an unnamed source who had known Kim for 10 years as saying: “He knew his life was at risk … and he was aware his brother was after him.” | The South China Morning Post quoted an unnamed source who had known Kim for 10 years as saying: “He knew his life was at risk … and he was aware his brother was after him.” |
| “He was very cheerful and mingled easily,” the friend, who had requested anonymity, told the newspaper. “He was very humane, he used to help many people here, particularly fellow citizens from South Korea … It is a shame he was not given the chance to live longer.” | “He was very cheerful and mingled easily,” the friend, who had requested anonymity, told the newspaper. “He was very humane, he used to help many people here, particularly fellow citizens from South Korea … It is a shame he was not given the chance to live longer.” |
| Additional reporting by Benjamin Haas in Hong Kong | Additional reporting by Benjamin Haas in Hong Kong |