Half-brother of North Korean leader killed in Malaysia -- media | Inquirer News

Half-brother of North Korean leader killed in Malaysia — media

/ 07:30 AM February 15, 2017

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean female agents operating in Malaysia have reportedly assassinated the half-brother of the North’s leader, Kim Jong-Un — a one-time heir apparent who became a critic of the Stalinist regime.

South Korean media said Tuesday that Kim Jong-Nam was killed with poisoned needles at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Officials in Seoul and the Malaysian capital could not confirm his death.

Article continues after this advertisement

Malaysian police said in a statement late Tuesday that a North Korean man, identified as Kim Chol, sought medical assistance at the airport and died on the way to hospital.

FEATURED STORIES

South Korean media said Jong-Nam had travelled using a fake passport under the name of Kim Chol.

READ: Police can’t confirm dead N. Korean is Kim Jong-un’s half-brother 

Article continues after this advertisement

If confirmed, it would be the highest-profile death under the Jong-Un regime since the execution of the leader’s uncle, Jang Song-Thaek, in December 2013.

Article continues after this advertisement

Jong-Un has been trying to strengthen his grip on power in the face of growing international pressure over his country’s nuclear and missile programs. He has reportedly staged a series of executions.

Article continues after this advertisement

The latest launch of a new intermediate-range missile on Sunday brought UN Security Council condemnation and vows of a strong response from US President Donald Trump.

READ: 2 men caught smuggling gun parts ‘for Duterte assassination’

Article continues after this advertisement

South Korea’s national news agency Yonhap quoted a source as saying agents of the North’s spy agency, the Reconnaissance General Bureau, carried out the assassination on Monday by taking advantage of a security loophole between Jong-Nam’s bodyguards and Malaysian police at the airport.

The 45-year-old was killed by two unidentified females wielding poisoned needles at the airport, according to South Korean broadcaster TV Chosun.

It said the women hailed a cab and fled immediately afterwards.

Jong-Nam, the eldest son of former leader Kim Jong-Il, was once seen as heir apparent but fell out of favor following an embarrassing botched attempt in 2001 to enter Japan on a forged passport and visit Disneyland.

He has since lived in virtual exile, mainly in the Chinese territory of Macau.

His half-brother took over as leader when their father died in December 2011.

Jong-Nam, known as an advocate of reform in the North, once told a Japanese newspaper that he opposed his country’s dynastic system of power.

He was reportedly close to his uncle Song-Thaek, once the North’s unofficial number two and political mentor of the current leader.

Targeted in the past

Cheong Seong-Jang, senior researcher at Seoul’s Sejong Institute think-tank, said Jong-Nam had been living in near-exile so it was unlikely that Jong-Un saw him as a potential competitor for power.

“But if Jong-Nam committed an act to damage Jong-Un’s authority, I think it’s possible that the Reconnaissance General Bureau may have directly conducted the assassination under the orders of Jong-Un since it has been in charge of closely watching Jong-Nam.”

Jong-Nam has been targeted in the past.

In October 2012 South Korean prosecutors said a North Korean detained as a spy had admitted involvement in a plot to stage a hit-and-run car accident in China in 2010 targeting him.

In 2014, Jong-Nam was reported to be in Indonesia — sighted at an Italian restaurant in Jakarta — and was said to be shuttling back and forth between Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and France.

In 2012, a Moscow newspaper reported that Jong-Nam was having financial problems after being cut off by the Stalinist state for doubting its succession policy.

The Argumenty i Fakty weekly said he was kicked out of a luxury hotel in Macau over a $15,000 debt.

Last year South Korea warned of possible North Korean assassination attempts in its territory.

It noted previous attempts to assassinate Hwang Jang-Yop, the North’s chief ideologue and former tutor to Kim Jong-Il, who defected to the South in 1997 and died of natural causes in 2010.

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

Jong-Nam was born from his father’s extra-marital relationship with Sung Hae-rim, a South Korean-born actress who died in Moscow. CBB

TAGS: Kim Jong-Un, Malaysia, North Korea, world

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our newsletter!

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

© Copyright 1997-2024 INQUIRER.net | All Rights Reserved

This is an information message

We use cookies to enhance your experience. By continuing, you agree to our use of cookies. Learn more here.