Kuala Lumpur has cancelled a visa-free travel deal with Pyongyang as a diplomatic spat deepens over the assassination of the half-brother of North Korea’s leader, national news agency Bernama reported Thursday. The government implemented the change on the grounds of national security, the Malaysian news agency quoted the country’s deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi … Read more
Following the Cold War-style assassination of Kim Jong-Nam with a lethal nerve agent, Malaysians have once again found their country the unlikely focus of a dramatic global story, embellished by speculative reports and outlandish theories. The Southeast Asian nation was used to flying under the international news radar before the disappearance of flight MH370 three … Read more
North Korea Wednesday poured scorn on “absurd” claims that one of its people was killed in Malaysia with a highly lethal nerve agent, accusing South Korea and the US of running a smear campaign. Malaysian police say two women used the VX agent to kill Kim Jong-Nam, half-brother of the North’s leader, at Kuala Lumpur … Read more
A tightly-guarded Malaysian court Wednesday charged two women with murdering the estranged half-brother of North Korea’s leader, who was killed with a powerful nerve agent, and warned them they face the death penalty if convicted. The handcuffed suspects were brought to court surrounded by masked and heavily armed police and special forces for their first … Read more
Two women arrested over the nerve agent assassination of Kim Jong Nam are to be charged with his murder, Malaysia said Tuesday, as North Korea sent a senior diplomat to retrieve the body from the morgue. The spectacular killing of Kim Jong-Un’s half-brother with VX, a fast-acting poison developed for warfare, sparked an international probe … Read more
Kim Jong Nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, likely died within 20 minutes of being exposed to a nerve agent at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia. An autopsy on the body believed to be Kim’s showed his death was consistent with VX nerve agent poisoning, Malaysia’s Health Minister Dr. … Read more
An Indonesian woman arrested for the murder of the half-brother of North Korea’s leader has said she was given 400 Malaysian ringgits ($90; £72) to carry out a prank. Indonesian embassy officials met Siti Aisyah, 25, on Saturday in the Malaysian capital. She said she was given the cash to smear Kim Jong-nam’s face with … Read more
Planned talks in New York between North Korea and former US officials were canceled following the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un’s half brother, US media reported Saturday. The unofficial meeting which was to have taken place next week fell through when the State Department refused to issue visas for diplomats coming from Pyongyang, … Read more
Malaysian detectives probing the assassination of Kim Jong-Nam admitted Thursday that they cannot force a wanted North Korean diplomat to answer their questions. The investigation into the airport killing of the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has narrowed in on eight of his countrymen, who police suspect were involved in the plot to … Read more
South Korea is using giant loudspeakers to blast news of the dramatic assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un’s half-brother across the border with its reclusive northern neighbour, it was reported Thursday. Kim Jong-Nam — the eldest son of the North’s late leader Kim Jong-Il — died on February 13 after being attacked by two … Read more
Pyongyang’s state media on Thursday blasted Malaysia for an “illegal and immoral” autopsy on a man believed be the half-brother of North Korea’s leader, breaking a 10-day silence on the airport assassination. “Malaysia is obliged to hand his body to the DPRK (North Korea) side as it made an autopsy and forensic examination of it … Read more
Detectives probing the assassination of Kim Jong-Un’s half-brother want to question a North Korean diplomat, Malaysia’s top policeman said Wednesday. Investigators have put five North Koreans in the frame for last week’s brazen killing of Kim Jong-Nam at Kuala Lumpur International Airport and have said they are seeking three more for questioning. They include the … Read more
A North Korean diplomat is wanted for questioning over the murder of Kim Jong-un’s brother, it has emerged. Investigators have put five North Koreans in the frame for last week’s killing of Kim Jong-Nam at Kuala Lumpur International Airport and have said they are seeking three more for questioning. They include the embassy’s second secretary, … Read more
Malaysian authorities said on Tuesday they had still to establish what was used to kill the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and the body had not been formally identified as no next of kin have come forward. Kim Jong Nam was killed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Feb. 13 with … Read more
Pyongyang cannot trust the Malaysian police investigation into the sudden death of a North Korean, the country’s ambassador said Monday, after officers identified the victim as the half-brother of the North’s leader. Kim Jong-Nam was travelling under the alias of Kim Chol when apparently poisoned by two women at Kuala Lumpur International Airport a week … Read more
Malaysian police say they are looking for four more North Korean suspects in connection with the killing of Kim Jong-Nam. The estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un died on Monday after being sprayed with an unidentified chemical at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. South Korea and the US have said he was assassinated by … Read more
Malaysian police said Sunday they were seeking four more North Korean suspects in the assassination of Kim Jong-Un’s half-brother, but the four had left the country on the day of the killing. The suspects were all male and aged between 33 and 57, Deputy Inspector-General of Police Noor Rashid Ibrahim told a press conference. In … Read more
Pyongyang has accused Malaysia of colluding with “hostile forces”, saying it would reject any results of a post-mortem examination carried out by Kuala Lumpur on the body of Kim Jong-Nam, the half brother of North Korea’s leader. The comments from the North Korean ambassador were the first official remarks from the country since the assassination … Read more
First-born Kim Jong-Nam (L) was once thought to be the natural successor to his father, but on Kim Jong-Il’s death in 2011 the succession went to Jong-Un (R), who was born to the former leader’s third wife North Korea’s ambassador to Malaysia on Friday said Pyongyang would reject any results of a post-mortem examination carried … Read more
North Korean female assassins, armed with good looks and poison tools, are now the weapon of choice for a ruthless regime stalking its opponents, a high-profile defector told AFP on Thursday, after the latest apparent assassination. Hardy male agents wielding guns or knives have been ditched in favour of their female counterparts, who strike fear … Read more