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| Kim Jong-nam was attacked by two women, believed to be North Korean agents. One grabbed him from behind and the other sprayed a liquid chemical on his face, according to Malaysian police. / Yonhap |
1 female suspect detained
By Kim Rahn
The mysterious death of Kim Jong-nam, the older half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, is spawning a lot of speculation.
Intelligence agencies and local police are scrambling to reconstruct the details, gathering testimony from witnesses, analyzing surveillance camera footage, and questioning a suspect whom they detained Wednesday.
The 46-year-old victim, who had been in Malaysia since Feb. 6, was about to take a flight to Macau, Monday. He was using a self check-in kiosk at a terminal for low-cost carriers at Kuala Lumpur International Airport at around 9 a.m.
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| This image, captured from Malay Mail, shows a CCTV image of a female suspect linked to the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's half brother, Jong-nam, at an airport in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Monday. |
Kim called for help from a staffer at the departure hall and was escorted to a clinic within the airport. "At this point, he was experiencing a headache and was on the verge of passing out," Ahmat told the Malaysian media.
Kim died in an ambulance while being transferred to Putrajaya Hospital.
It was previously reported that Kim might have been killed with a poisoned needle. South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) said Wednesday it confirmed Kim was killed by poison but further investigation was necessary to determine whether he was killed by a poisoned needle, a chemical spray or a piece of cloth soaked with poison.
The two suspects fled in a taxi immediately after the attack.
Local police and the Malaysian government later confirmed that the victim was Kim Jong-nam, although his passport was in the name of Kim Chol from Pyongyang who was born on June 10, 1970. He was known to have been travelling under that name. Kim Jong-nam's real birthday was May 10, 1971.
Malaysian police said they received a request for his body from the North Korean embassy there, but decided to perform an autopsy first to find out the exact cause of death.
One suspect detained
They are also investigating what Kim did and whom he met with in Malaysia, as well as examining surveillance camera footage from the airport. Cameras caught one of the suspected assassins who was wearing a white long-sleeved T-shirt and short skirt with a cross-body bag. She looked like an ordinary tourist seemingly waiting for someone.
The two women were initially believed to be North Korean agents. But the Malaysian police detained one of them at the airport Wednesday morning and said she was holding a Vietnamese passport with the name of Doan Thi Huong born in 1988.
She was the one caught on camera and was alone when detained, according to local police. The woman allegedly fled right after the killing and went to a hotel. Police are investigating why she came back to the crime scene two days later; adding that they are looking for another woman and four men allegedly linked to the murder. They are also confirming whether she is really Vietnamese with diplomats from North Korea and Vietnam.
South Korea's Ministry of Unification said it cannot give answers for now over whether the government suspects the assassination was ordered by North Korea. The NIS, however, said the North has tried to assassinate Kim several times over the last five years.
