Malaysia identifies North Korean embassy official among suspects

REUTERS

 

Malaysia's Royal Police Chief Khalid Abu Bakar (C) speaks during a news conference regarding the apparent assassination of Kim Jong Nam, the half-brother of the North Korean leader, at the Malaysian police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, February 22, 2017. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

 

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian police identified a senior official in the North Korean embassy on Wednesday as a suspect in the murder of Kim Jong Nam, and said another was linked to North Korea's state airline.

 

Police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said both suspects are still in Malaysia and have been called in for questioning. He said North Korean diplomat held the rank of second secretary at the embassy.

 

"He's the second secretary of the embassy. ..they're not in custody, they've been called in for assistance," Khalid told reporters in a news conference.

 

The other suspect was a staffer with Air Koryo, he said.

 

Kim Jong Nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, was killed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Feb. 13 while he was preparing to board a flight to Macau.

 

Khalid told a news conference that police "strongly believed" four other suspects who fled Malaysia on the day of the attack, had gone to the North Korean capital of Pyongyang.

 

Last week, Malaysian police arrested a North Korean man and two women from Vietnam and Indonesia.

 

Khalid said both woman wiped a liquid, containing an as yet unidentified toxic substance, on Kim Jong Nam's face.

 

"Yes, the two female suspects knew that the substance they had were toxic. We don't know what kind of chemical was used," he said.

 

"They used their bare hands," he said, adding they were instructed to wash their hands afterwards.

 

Khalid said police will apply to extend the suspects remand in custody.

 

Diplomatic tensions have escalated between North Korea and Malaysia since the killing, with the countries tussling over custody of the victim's body and trading barbs over Malaysia's handling of the investigation.

 

Malaysia is one of the few countries in the world that maintains ties with the nuclear-armed nation.

 

Earlier this week Malaysia recalled its ambassador from Pyongyang after North Korea's ambassador in Kuala Lumpur cast doubt on the fairness of the ongoing probe.

 

The police said no family member of Kim Jong Nam has come forward to claim the body or provide DNA samples yet, dismissing rumours that a son had arrived in Kuala Lumpur earlier this week.

 

Malaysia has said it will only release the body to the next-of-kin once the cause of death and identity have been confirmed, while North Korea has demanded it be handed over to its embassy directly.

 

(Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; Writing by Kanupriya Kapoor and Praveen Menon; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-02-22

Apparently there has been a burglary attempt at the morgue where his body is being held.

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"He's the second secretary of the embassy. ..they're not in custody, they've been called in for assistance," Khalid told reporters in a news conference.

 

Ummmm, what are the chances he's going to clandestinely flee?  I'd venture about 98% likely.

 

Well, if you want an assassination done, don't hire North Koreans.  They're as adept at assassinations as Trump's spokespeople are at telling the truth.

He doesn't need to run.

He is a diplomat and as such has diplomatic immunity. He can't be arrested. Sadly.

He can admit to staging the whole thing and still be untouchable.

The evidence is starting to stack up though, that he was assassinated on his half brothers orders.

No one would touch him without his say so. The repercussions of doing so without the nod of approval would be fatal.

Stuns me that America can invade Iraq and Afghanistan, but not touch this seriously dangerous psycopath, who represents as big a danger to world safety as anyone else out there.

USA wont do jack. Too scared of upsetting China.

57 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

He doesn't need to run.

He is a diplomat and as such has diplomatic immunity. He can't be arrested. Sadly.

He can admit to staging the whole thing and still be untouchable.

The evidence is starting to stack up though, that he was assassinated on his half brothers orders.

No one would touch him without his say so. The repercussions of doing so without the nod of approval would be fatal.

Stuns me that America can invade Iraq and Afghanistan, but not touch this seriously dangerous psycopath, who represents as big a danger to world safety as anyone else out there.

USA wont do jack. Too scared of upsetting China.

china just turned down all coal exports from N Korea which accounts for 35% of it's economy in compliance with UN resolutions. Trump and china may have a plan along with S Korea. No one else is stepping up to the plate.

2 hours ago, bangkok101 said:

china just turned down all coal exports from N Korea which accounts for 35% of it's economy in compliance with UN resolutions. Trump and china may have a plan along with S Korea. No one else is stepping up to the plate.

Well you have demonstrated that the UN and China have acted , where is the evidence that Trump has done anything more than talk ?

1 hour ago, joecoolfrog said:

Well you have demonstrated that the UN and China have acted , where is the evidence that Trump has done anything more than talk ?

Maybe Trump is waiting for guidance from FOX News and Trump's Senior political advisor Steve Bannon. Otherwise Trump doesn't trust America's intelligence agencies or even his own State Department for a policy plan. Not that I can blame State Department Secretary Tillerson who is backlogged trying to undo a month's worth of Trump's foreign tweeted policies than worrying about any forward-looking Trump foreign policies.

8 hours ago, darksidedog said:

He doesn't need to run.

He is a diplomat and as such has diplomatic immunity. He can't be arrested. Sadly.

He can admit to staging the whole thing and still be untouchable.

The evidence is starting to stack up though, that he was assassinated on his half brothers orders.

No one would touch him without his say so. The repercussions of doing so without the nod of approval would be fatal.

Stuns me that America can invade Iraq and Afghanistan, but not touch this seriously dangerous psycopath, who represents as big a danger to world safety as anyone else out there.

USA wont do jack. Too scared of upsetting China.

I don't think NK is a danger to the US. It would be very wise of Trump to stay away from it.

11 minutes ago, stevenl said:

I don't think NK is a danger to the US. It would be very wise of Trump to stay away from it.

How naive is that remark? PRNK is a danger to Japan which is an ally of USA. Not only that, PRNK boasts that it is developing missiles which can reach USA. Throw in the possibility for the rogue state to export nuclear technology to other rogue players and the guys who 'don't think....'. Well, they just don't think.

3 minutes ago, SheungWan said:

How naive is that remark? PRNK is a danger to Japan which is an ally of USA. Not only that, PRNK boasts that it is developing missiles which can reach USA. Throw in the possibility for the rogue state to export nuclear technology to other rogue players and the guys who 'don't think....'. Well, they just don't think.

Why always the insults when somebody does not agree with an opinion?

Keep the discussion civil.  

10 hours ago, stevenl said:

Why always the insults when somebody does not agree with an opinion?

Ain't it? Many forumners here have a level of intelligence that only allows them to throw insults and make derogatory remarks when they don't agree with opinions of fellow members. They haven't reached the level where they can engage in a diplomatic and matured discussion. Most of these hide behind the annonymity of their screen names, masking their meekness and weakness and try to act like they are 10x bigger than they actually are.

 

Back to the discussion - you're right, I don't think NK is a danger to the US. Not directly. But NK still needs to be watched because, like it or not, SheungWan does have a point - it's not what NK can do to the US directly, it's what it does that may affect the US in some way.

Ain't it? Many forumners here have a level of intelligence that only allows them to throw insults and make derogatory remarks when they don't agree with opinions of fellow members. They haven't reached the level where they can engage in a diplomatic and matured discussion. Most of these hide behind the annonymity of their screen names, masking their meekness and weakness and try to act like they are 10x bigger than they actually are.
 
Back to the discussion - you're right, I don't think NK is a danger to the US. Not directly. But NK still needs to be watched because, like it or not, SheungWan does have a point - it's not what NK can do to the US directly, it's what it does that may affect the US in some way.

Agree with you, it needs to be watched and could turn into a threat.

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On a side note:   China and other countries don't want N.Korea to implode for many reasons, one of which:  Nuclear material and expertise could readily get shifted to other countries and possibly terrorist groups.  N.Koreans generals would have no scruples about letting ISIS or Syria or whomever get their hands on nukes, as long as there's payment.

2 hours ago, boomerangutang said:

On a side note:   China and other countries don't want N.Korea to implode for many reasons, one of which:  Nuclear material and expertise could readily get shifted to other countries and possibly terrorist groups.  N.Koreans generals would have no scruples about letting ISIS or Syria or whomever get their hands on nukes, as long as there's payment.

Mainland China is the only country propping up North Korea. The rest of the world (apart from a few weird individuals/states/orgs who will back any anti-USA outfit notwithstanding and 'er maybe Pakistan intelligence services) would like the Kim regime to be gone tomorrow.

Edited February 23, 20179 yr by SheungWan

4 hours ago, stevenl said:

Agree with you, it needs to be watched and could turn into a threat.

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Good to see such a quick turnaround after saying 'I don't think NK is a danger to the US'. It would be very wise of Trump to stay away from it.'

1 hour ago, SheungWan said:

Mainland China is the only country propping up North Korea.

Japan and Russia are principal trading partners. Iran sells oil to NK and buys weapons.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_relations_of_North_Korea#Angola

 

3 hours ago, Srikcir said:

Japan and Russia are principal trading partners. Iran sells oil to NK and buys weapons.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_relations_of_North_Korea#Angola

 

Not sure about the Japanese reference other than NK abduction of individuals. Can well believe Iran or Putin in there. Lovely pair. Lovely bunch.

On 2/22/2017 at 8:41 PM, boomerangutang said:

"He's the second secretary of the embassy. ..they're not in custody, they've been called in for assistance," Khalid told reporters in a news conference.

 

Ummmm, what are the chances he's going to clandestinely flee?  I'd venture about 98% likely.

 

Well, if you want an assassination done, don't hire North Koreans.  They're as adept at assassinations as Trump's spokespeople are at telling the truth.

Re the don't hire North Korean assassination team you should tell that to the relatives of the 21 people including the 4 South Korean ministers killed in 1983 blown up in a bomb attack by North Korean undercover agents. The target was the South Korean president so I guess you can put that one down to a failure. Or maybe the 115 passengers killed on the South Korean plane blown up by North Korean agents in 1987. That one was meant to screw up the 1988 Seoul Olympics. And we've only just got started......

Good to see such a quick turnaround after saying 'I don't think NK is a danger to the US'. It would be very wise of Trump to stay away from it.'

What turnaround? I don't think NK is a threat at the moment, but of course keep watching.

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23 minutes ago, stevenl said:

What turnaround? I don't think NK is a threat at the moment, but of course keep watching.

It's a threat to its own people.