North Korean leader's half brother killed in Malaysia - source

[snoop1130]

North Korean leader's half brother killed in Malaysia - source

By Ju-min Park and Joseph Sipalan

 

 

SEOUL/KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - The estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been killed in Malaysia, a South Korean government source told Reuters on Tuesday.

 

Kim Jong Nam, the older half brother of the North Korean leader, was known to spend a significant amount of his time outside the country and had spoken out publicly against his family's dynastic control of the isolated state.

 

He was believed to be in his mid-40s.

 

Police in Malaysia told Reuters on Tuesday an unidentified North Korean man had died en route to hospital from Kuala Lumpur airport on Monday. Abdul Aziz Ali, police chief for the Sepang district, said the man's identity had not been verified.

 

An employee in the emergency ward of Putrajaya hospital said a deceased Korean there was born in 1970 and surnamed Kim.

 

South Korea's TV Chosun, a cable television network, said that Kim was poisoned at Kuala Lumpur airport by two women believed to be North Korean operatives, who were at large, citing multiple South Korean government sources.

 

The South Korean government source who spoke to Reuters did not immediately provide further details.

 

South Korea's foreign ministry said it could not confirm the reports, and the country's intelligence agency could not immediately be reached for comment.

 

Kim Jong Nam and Kim Jong Un are both sons of former leader Kim Jong Il, who died in late 2011, but they had different mothers.

 

Kim Jong Nam was believed to be close to his uncle, Jang Song Thaek, who was North Korea's second most powerful man before being executed on Kim Jong Un's orders in 2013.

 

In 2001, Kim Jong Nam was caught at an airport in Japan travelling on a fake passport, saying he had wanted to visit Tokyo Disneyland. He was known to travel to Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China.

 

He said several times over the years that he had no interest in leading his country.

 

"Personally I am against third-generation succession," he told Japan's Asahi TV in 2010, before his younger had succeeded their father.

 

"I hope my younger brother will do his best for the sake of North Koreans' prosperous lives."

 

(Reporting by Ju-min Park and Se Young Lee in SEOUL and Joseph Sipalan And Emily Chow in KUALA LUMPUR; Writing by Tony Munroe; Editing by Robert Birsel)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-2-14

[dabhand]

Some more details from the local Star paper:

 

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/02/14/police-confirm-kim-jong-nam-killed-at-klia/

 

This comment from the local head of CID is of interest:

“We have also received a request for the body from the North Korean Embassy.

“However, we will perform the post-mortem first before releasing the body,”

 

Fast off the mark and rather keen to take control of the body for some reason.........

 

[PT Paul]

Why everyone jump on North Korea? Us Scousers always get blamed, and out great leader Derek Hatton.

 

Don't buy The Sun, or ang Murdoch press.

 

 

 

 

[webfact]

North Korea suspected behind murder of leader's half-brother - U.S. sources

By Emily Chow and Ju-min Park

REUTERS

 

People watch a TV screen broadcasting a news report on the assassination of Kim Jong Nam, the older half brother of the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, at a railway station in Seoul, South Korea, February 14, 2017. Lim Se-young/News1 via REUTERS

 

KUALA LUMPUR/SEOUL (Reuters) - The U.S. government strongly believes that North Korean agents murdered the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Malaysia, U.S. government sources said on Tuesday.

 

American authorities have not yet determined exactly how Kim Jong Nam was killed, according to two sources, who did not provide specific evidence to support the U.S. government's view.

 

A South Korean government source also had said that Kim Jong Nam had been murdered in Malaysia. He did not provide further details.

 

South Korea's foreign ministry said it could not confirm the reports, and the country's intelligence agency could not immediately be reached for comment.

 

In Washington, there was no immediate response to a request for comment from the Trump administration, which faces a stiff challenge from a defiant North Korea over its nuclear arms programme and the test of a ballistic missile last weekend.

 

Kim Jong Nam was known to spend a significant amount of his time outside North Korea and had spoken out publicly against his family's dynastic control of the isolated state.

 

If confirmed as an assassination, it would the latest in a string of killings over the decades at home and abroad meant to silence those perceived by North Korea's leaders as threats to their authority, one of the U.S. sources said on condition of anonymity.

 

In a statement, Malaysian police said the dead man, 46, held a passport under the name Kim Chol.

 

Kim Jong Nam has been caught in the past using forged travel documents.

 

Malaysian police official Fadzil Ahmat said the cause of Kim's death was not yet known, and that a post mortem would be carried out.

 

"So far there are no suspects, but we have started investigations and are looking at a few possibilities to get leads," Fadzil told Reuters.

 

According to Fadzil, Kim had been planning to travel to Macau on Monday when he fell ill at the low-cost terminal of Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).

 

"The deceased ... felt like someone grabbed or held his face from behind," Fadzil said. "He felt dizzy, so he asked for help at the ... counter of KLIA."

 

Kim was taken to an airport clinic where he still felt unwell, and it was decided to take him to hospital. He died in the ambulance on the way to Putrajaya Hospital, Fadzil added.

 

The U.S. government sources said it was possible that Kim Jong Nam had been poisoned. They said it could not be ruled out that assassins used some kind of "poison pen" device.

 

South Korea's TV Chosun, a cable-TV network, reported that Kim had been poisoned with a needle by two women believed to be North Korean operatives who fled in a taxi and were at large, citing multiple South Korean government sources.

 

Reuters could not independently confirm those details.

 

SECRETIVE FAMILY

 

Malaysia is one of a dwindling number of countries that has close relations with North Korea, which is under tightening global sanctions over its nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches, the latest of which took place on Sunday.

 

Malaysians and North Koreans can visit each other's country without visas.

 

A phone call to the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur late on Tuesday went straight to an answering machine.

Kim Jong Nam and Kim Jong Un are both sons of former North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, who died in late 2011, but they had different mothers.

 

Kim Jong Nam, the elder of the two, did not attend his father's funeral. His mother was an actress named Song Hye Rim, and Kim Jong Nam said his father kept his parents' relationship secret.

 

The portly and easygoing Kim Jong Nam was believed to be close to his uncle, Jang Song Thaek, who was North Korea's second most powerful man before being executed on Kim Jong Un's orders in 2013.

 

In an embarrassing 2001 incident, Kim Jong Nam was caught at an airport in Japan travelling on a forged Dominican Republic passport, saying he had wanted to visit Tokyo Disneyland. He was known to travel to Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China.

 

Koh Yu-hwan, a professor at Dongguk University in Seoul, said Kim Jong Nam had occasionally been the subject of speculation that he could replace his younger half-brother, the country's third-generation leader.

 

"Loyalists may have wanted to get rid of him," he said.

 

Kim Jong Nam said several times over the years that he had no interest in leading his country.

 

"Personally, I am against third-generation succession," he told Japan's Asahi TV in 2010. "I hope my younger brother will do his best for the sake of North Koreans' prosperous lives."

 

His cousin, Lee Han-young, who defected to South Korea through Switzerland in 1982, was shot and killed by North Korean agents in Seoul in 1997, according to South Korea.

 

(Additional reporting by Se Young Lee in SEOUL, Joseph Sipalan, Rozanna Latiff, Praveen Menon and A.Ananthalakshmi in KUALA LUMPUR and Mark Hosenball and Matt Spetalnick in WASHINGTON; writing by Tony Munroe and Praveen Menon; editing by Mike Collett-White, Ian Geoghegan, Grant McCool and Richard Chang)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-02-15

[Credo]

Oh, oh, the family squabbles are spilling over into other countries.   Not good.    

[ddavidovsky]

Bad move by Kim Jong Un. I predict this will be the beginning of the end for him and for N. Korea. Political repression is one thing, but anyone who will kill their sibling can be considered a legitimate target.

Edited February 15, 2017 by ddavidovsky

[geriatrickid]

1 hour ago, ddavidovsky said:

Bad move by Kim Jong Un. I predict this will be the beginning of the end for him and for N. Korea. Political repression is one thing, but anyone who will kill their sibling can be considered a legitimate target.

Oh please, spare us the soap opera hysterics.

Lil'Kim has already killed off his uncle, his aunt, various sex slaves, his father's mistresses, various cousins and  of course thousands of his own people. The death of relative who he  NEVER met, let alone spoke with is a non event in the  psycho land of North Korea.

 

One should instead be asking how the dead Kim was able to fly about and live a life of luxury if there are  supposedly sanctions in place in respect to the transfer of monies associated with North Korea. How was he able to live a nice life in Singapore and Macau?

 

Once again the dishonest sanctions busting behaviour of Singapore, China and Malaysia are on display. This man  was no exile. He was told to stay away. He lived  a comfortable life and did nothing that would justify his being exempt from sanctions.  He was killed because Lil Kim saw him as a potential replacement. The next one on the  list is the  reportedly gay brother who has a reported  fondness for bling and rent boys.

Edited February 15, 2017 by geriatrickid

[ddavidovsky]

27 minutes ago, geriatrickid said:

Oh please, spare us the soap opera hysterics.

Lil'Kim has already killed off his uncle, his aunt, various sex slaves, his father's mistresses, various cousins and  of course thousands of his own people. The death of relative who he  NEVER met, let alone spoke with is a non event in the  psycho land of North Korea.

I'm not talking about the internal situation, but the effect on world opinion. Killing his sibling in bizarre style on foreign soil rates far higher on the revulsion scale than anything else he's done hitherto.

When push comes to shove, his exposure to moral neutralisation by external force is now far greater.

[ilostmypassword]

31 minutes ago, ddavidovsky said:

I'm not talking about the internal situation, but the effect on world opinion. Killing his sibling in bizarre style on foreign soil rates far higher on the revulsion scale than anything else he's done hitherto.

When push comes to shove, his exposure to moral neutralisation by external force is now far greater.

What the heck is "moral neutralization"? 

[arithai12]

1 hour ago, geriatrickid said:

The death of relative who he  NEVER met, let alone spoke with ....

 

fly about and live a life of luxury....

 

there's a picture of the two half-brothers together, in an article I read yesterday.

 

the guy was flying from KLIA2, some low-cost carrier. AirAsia is not my idea of luxury. Unless you mean in comparison with the average folks in his country.

[Stargeezr]

I hope that China does a thorough investigation, to find out how someone under their

protection, was killed in another foreign country, likely by NK agents.  Poison pen, or poison spray

is the likely way that he was killed. His half brother must be smiling even more today as he has

one less family member to replace him.

Geezer

[elgordo38]

3 hours ago, ilostmypassword said:

What the heck is "moral neutralization"? 

Have you ever watched a Frankenstein movie?? 

[elgordo38]

He was receiving a stipend from someone and travelling the world like a good time Charlie because I think he was well aware of the fate that awaited him. 

[tifino]

Thaksin will be worried. 

 

The circumstances are so ripe for picking off another cherry...

 

 

 

but in the meantime - honourable majestic leader will pronounce it a suicide 

[Chicog]

This suspect looks a bit, er, suspect.

 

 

[Sphere]

If she's really N. Korean, shouldn't her shirt say ROR?

[bendejo]

Looks like katoey.  Kind of clever, if you think about it, he takes off his drag and eludes the hunt for a woman....

 

 

[HiSoLowSoNoSo]

What a swine, killing his own family members, hope he suffer a very bad and painful death later on.

[geriatrickid]

Something about this man, the hand and the time frame reminds me of a certain era;

 

 

 

 

 

[ddavidovsky]

The world has surely got this lunatic in the cross-hairs now.

 

No information yet on the assassination method. Presumably the chemical spray in the face was to disorientate Jong Nam while they injected him.

[Briggsy]

Impossible to know why Kim Jong Un would like to get rid of his half-brother who never showed any interest in power.

False flag operation is possible.

Even an internal N. Korean factional fallout is possible with the assassination blamed on Kim Jong Un.

What we read in the press could be wildly wide of the mark.

[zorro1]

Those 2 bitches will sing like canaries after several days of interrogation

Sent from my Redmi Note 3 using Tapatalk

[dabhand]

Sounds like NK are not too happy with the Malaysians not releasing the body.

 

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/02/18/north-korea-accuses-malaysia-of-jong-nam-body/

 

North Korea has accused the Malaysian government of being in cahoots with Pyongyang's enemies over the assassination of Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Ambassador Kang Chol (pix), who broke his silence Friday night since Jong-nam was killed at KL International Airport 2 on Monday, told reporters that North Korea would reject the outcome of the post-mortem "on its citizen without permission."

"This is a violation of the human rights of and infringing upon our citizen," he said outside the Hospital Kuala Lumpur mortuary

[geriatrickid]

On 2/16/2017 at 10:28 AM, Briggsy said:

Impossible to know why Kim Jong Un would like to get rid of his half-brother who never showed any interest in power.

False flag operation is possible.

Even an internal N. Korean factional fallout is possible with the assassination blamed on Kim Jong Un.

What we read in the press could be wildly wide of the mark.

what planet have you been on for the past 5 years? He's been targeted during that period. He was udner the protection of the Chinese. The dead fat parasite was of zero use to anyone, dead or alive, except maybe to the Chinese if they needed a Kim replacement. Now they will have to make nice with the  effeminate relative.

[dabhand]

This article has a youtube clip of the attack. Really surprised that, given the clear possibility of being a target for such NK action, he appears to have been travelling without any security.

 

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/02/19/video-clip-allegedly-of-jong-nam-murder-appears-on-youtube/

[dabhand]

Interesting article from Sarawak Report that gives a bit of background to the links between NK and Malaysia. Particularly part of the reason for the number of NK nationals based in Malaysia. 

 

http://www.sarawakreport.org/2017/03/remember-how-malaysias-bn-elite-are-happy-to-take-slaves-from-north-korea/

Meanwhile, everyone has known for decades just what North Korea’s terrible regime is like and how it treats its people.  Generally acknowledged for holding the worst human rights record on the planet this horrible government willingly trades its people as slaves to anyone who will take on the super-cheap labour.

Malaysia under this present government has been one of the few countries to have done so and has been publicly shamed by the UN for exploiting North Korean slave labour in coal mines in Sarawak in particular.

 

Having worked in Malaysia for a number of years during the 90's , the money politics aspect is no surprise at all. The corruption and political shenanigans is at a level that beggars belief.