Kuala Lumpur – Two more suspects were arrested Thursday in Malaysia in connection with the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s half-brother (pic), bringing the total number of arrests in the case to three, local media reported.
Police detained a 25-year-old woman holding an Indonesian passport with the name Siti Aishah and an unidentified Malaysian man said to be her boyfriend, Channel News Asia reported.
Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that the woman is an Indonesian citizen “based on preliminary data available to the Indonesian embassy,” a statement said.
The embassy requested consular access in order to provide the woman with legal assistance, the statement added.
A first suspect was arrested on Wednesday carrying Vietnamese travel documents. She was picked up at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, the scene of Monday’s killing.
She had been identified in CCTV footage at the airport where Kim died and was alone when she was arrested, a police statement said.
Vietnam has pledged to assist Malaysia in the investigation, with the foreign ministry saying it was “closely collaborating with the Malaysian side to clarify information.”
Malaysian police have been granted a remand order to detain the suspects for seven days pending investigations, Malaysian state news agency Bernama reported.
Police expect to make more arrests in connection with the killing, the news agency said.
Also Thursday, Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi told reporters that the North Korean embassy had verified for the first time that Kim Jong Nam, the North Korean leader’s half brother, was indeed the person who was killed on Monday.
His travel documents read “Kim Chol,” an apparent alias.
Kim Jong Nam’s body would be returned to North Korea at Pyongyang’s request after completion of the post-mortem, the deputy premier said.
Malaysian police official Fadzil Ahmat told local newspaper The Star on Wednesday that Kim Jong Nam, 45, was poisoned about an hour before he was due to board a flight to Macau.
“He told the receptionist at the departure hall that someone had grabbed his face from behind and splashed some liquid on him,” Fadzil said.
“He asked for help and was immediately sent to the airport’s clinic. At this point, he was experiencing headache and was on the verge of passing out.”
He then had a seizure and died while being transported to a nearby hospital, Fadzil said.
South Korean media have long talked about a feud between Kim Jong Un and Kim Jong Nam and have speculated that the North Korean leader possibly wanted to get rid of his rival, who said he never sought power for himself.
Should Pyongyang be found responsible for the murder, it would mark the most high-profile death related to the Kim Jong Un regime since the December 2013 execution of Jang Song Thaek, the once-powerful uncle of North Korea’s leader.
The eldest of former dictator Kim Jong Il’s three sons, Kim Jong Nam had mainly spent time in China and South-East Asia in recent years, according to reports.
South Korean news agency Yonhap said Wednesday that Kim Jong Nam was “protected” by Beijing, and suggested that his death could strain relations between North Korea and China, the insular country’s only powerful ally.
-dpa
