Malaysia Confirms Deceased Korean is Brother of North Korean Leader

Malaysian officials confirmed Thursday that a man allegedly assassinated at one of the country’s main airports three days earlier was the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, and announced two more arrests in the case.

Police said they had arrested “another female suspect believed to be involved in the death of a Korean male on 13 February 2017” and named her as Siti Aishah, 25, of Serang, Indonesia.

“She was positively identified from the CCTV footage at the airport and was alone at the time of the arrest,” a police statement said. It did not disclose the location of the arrest.

Police later said they had arrested Siti’s boyfriend, 26-year-old Malaysian Muhammad Farid Bin Jalaluddin, “to assist in investigations” in the case.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said Kim Jong-Nam’s identity had been established by comparing the passport the dead man was carrying with documents provided by the North Korean embassy.

“His identity was confirmed from the passport that we compared with the document issued by the Embassy of North Korea and by the identity issued by the embassy,” he was quoted as saying by Malaysian state news agency Bernama.

On Monday, a man carrying a North Korean passport with the name Kim Chol died en route to hospital after reportedly telling medical personnel that a woman had attacked him with a chemical spray. That passport was authentic, Zahid said Thursday.

An autopsy on the body has been completed at Kuala Lumpur General Hospital but authorities have yet to announce the findings.

“For DNA confirmation, that will need time, let the police and the medical experts confirm this,” Zahid was quoted as saying in a New Straits Times report, speaking to reporters in Putrajaya after a meeting with the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia.