MH370 families launch campaign to fund search for the missing jet

A family member of a passenger aboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 which went missing in 2014 reacts during a protest outside the Chinese foreign ministry in Beijing, July 29, 2016. The hat reads "Pray for MH370" REUTERS/Thomas Peter

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Families of passengers on board missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 on Saturday launched a campaign to privately fund a search for the aircraft.

Flight MH370, carrying 239 people, went missing on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, nearly three years ago, on March 8, 2014.

Australia, Malaysia, and China jointly called off a two-year underwater search for the aircraft in January.

Grace Nathan, a Malaysian lawyer whose mother, Anne Daisy, was on the plane, said the families hope to raise $15 million to fund an initial search north of the previous search area.

“We won’t start fundraising until we’re sure that the governments are not going to resume the search and until the current data has been fully reviewed and analyzed,” she said at the campaign launch and MH370 memorial event held at a mall in Kuala Lumpur.

The three governments have said they will resume the search if any credible evidence on the whereabouts of the plane emerges.

International experts last year assisted Voice 370, a support group for MH370 next-of-kin, in mounting their own search along the East African coast where debris had been discovered.

“They pinpointed to us accurately where the debris would have made landfall. They’ve been very helpful both on a personal level and to the investigation,” Grace said.

The memorial event, the first held since the search was suspended, featured musical and dance performances, while family members and friends of those aboard made impassioned pleas for the search to continue.

Jiang Hui, whose mother was on the plane, recounted his experience discovering a piece of potential MH370 debris in Madagascar last year.

“I thought it was very miraculous and fortunate when I found the piece of debris that day, but I thought it was useless because this sort of searching activity should have been done by the government,” said Jiang, who traveled from China to attend the memorial.

“It should not be us, the family members, who should have been subjected to this pain, to go and face this cruel reality.”

Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai, who attended the event, said authorities had analyzed 27 pieces of potential MH370 debris along the East African coastline, including two new pieces found in South Africa two weeks ago.

The government has also signed several agreements with countries along the East African coastline to coordinate searches for debris, Liow said.

(Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; Editing by Richard Pullin)

North Korean murder suspect says Malaysia in conspiracy to damage Pyongyang’s honor

North Korean national Ri Jong Chol stands behind the fence of the North Korean embassy compound in Beijing, China, March 4, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

By Ben Blanchard

BEIJING (Reuters) – Ri Jong Chol, a suspect in the murder of the estranged half-brother of North Korea’s leader, said in Beijing that he was a victim of a conspiracy by Malaysian authorities attempting to damage the honor of North Korea.

Ri, a North Korean, accused Malaysia of using coercion to try to extract a confession from him, in comments to reporters outside the North Korean embassy in Beijing early on Saturday.

Kim Jong Nam was murdered on Feb. 13 at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, after being assaulted by two women who Malaysian police believe smeared his face with VX, a chemical classified by the United Nations as a weapon of mass destruction.

The murder of Kim Jong Nam has soured relations between Malaysia and North Korea, which had maintained friendly ties for decades.

Ri said he was not at the airport on the day of the killing, and knew nothing about the accusation that his car was used in the case.

“I didn’t go (to the airport), and I had no reason to go. I was just doing my work,” he said.

Ri said he had worked in Malaysia trading ingredients needed for soap.

Ri was in Beijing on his way back to North Korea after Malaysia deported him on Friday.

He was met at Beijing’s international airport early on Saturday by a swarm of South Korean and Japanese reporters, but he was whisked away from the chaotic scene by Chinese police before he was able to make any statement.

Outside the North Korean embassy, Ri told reporters that he was presented with false evidence in Malaysia, and police showed him pictures of his family in detention.

“I realized that this is a conspiracy, plot, to try to damage the status and honor of the republic,” Ri said.

South Korean intelligence and U.S. officials say the murder was an assassination organized by North Korean agents.

Kim, who had been living in the Chinese territory of Macau under Beijing’s protection, had spoken out publicly against his family’s dynastic control of isolated, nuclear-armed North Korea.

(Additional reporting by Joseph Campbell, and Jack Kim in SEOUL; Writing by Ryan Woo; Editing by Alison Williams and Richard Pullin)

Malaysia to deport North Korean detained in airport murder probe

Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi of Malaysia speaks during a high-level meeting on addressing large movements of refugees and migrants at the United Nations General Assembly in Manhattan, New York, U.S. September 19, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

By A. Ananthalakshmi and Rozanna Latiff

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia will deport a North Korean held in connection with the death of Kim Jong Nam, and cancel visa-free entry for all North Koreans, as diplomatic ties between the two countries frayed further following the murder at Kuala Lumpur’s airport.

The relationship between Malaysia and North Korea has soured since the estranged half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jung Un was murdered two weeks ago at Kuala Lumpur International Airport with a super toxic nerve agent VX.

South Korean intelligence and U.S. officials say the murder was an assassination organized by North Korean agents, though the only suspects charged in the case so far are an Indonesian woman and a Vietnamese woman.

Police are also holding one North Korean man and want to question seven others, including a senior official in the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur.

But, the detained North Korean, Ri Jong Chol, will be deported on Friday as there is insufficient evidence to charge him, Malaysian Attorney General Mohamed Apandi Ali told Reuters in a text message on Thursday.

Ri was arrested in Kuala Lumpur on Feb. 17 with a work permit that had been valid till Feb. 6, 2017.

It is unclear what Ri’s suspected role was in the murder.

Security camera footage showed two women assaulting Kim Jong Nam at the airport as he was waiting to board a flight to Macau, where he had been living with his family under Chinese protection.

Malaysian police say they smeared his face with VX nerve agent, a chemical classified by the United Nations as a weapon of mass destruction, and that Kim died within 20 minutes of being attacked.

North Korea, which has not accepted that the dead man is Kim Jong Nam, said on Thursday that there were strong indications a heart attack killed the North Korean national.

Speaking to reporters outside the embassy in Kuala Lumpur, former North Korean deputy ambassador to the United Nations Ri Tong Il questioned the alleged use of VX, saying samples should be sent to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

“If it is true that it was used, then the samples should be sent to the office of OPCW,” Ri said.

“In case it is proved by the two separate international laboratories, with the same conclusion, then they should come to identify who is the one that made it. Who is the one that brought it into Malaysia,” he added.

Ri is heading a high level diplomatic delegation that met with Malaysian cabinet ministers after arriving in Kuala Lumpur earlier this week.

North Korea had earlier tried to convince Malaysia not to perform an autopsy on Kim Jong Nam’s body, and to release three suspects detained in connection with the killing.

The women, who could face the death penalty, have told diplomats from their countries that they had believed they were carrying out a prank for a reality television show.

Police say four of the other North Korean suspects have fled Malaysia. Three other suspects – a diplomat, an Air Koryo official and another North Korean – are yet to come forward.

NEAR BREAKING POINT

The two countries have maintained friendly ties for decades, but the relationship has come close to breaking point.

Malaysia has insisted that laws of the country will be followed and has refused to release the body to the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur, while waiting for next of kin to come forward.

Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said Malaysia will cancel visa-free entry for North Koreans from March 6, in a decision taken for national security reasons.

Malaysia is one of the few countries that North Koreans could visit without a visa, and Malaysians are among the few nationalities granted visa-free entry to the secretive, nuclear-armed state.

Following a Reuters report this week that the North Korean intelligence agency has been running an arms operations from Kuala Lumpur for years, Malaysian authorities have said two North Korea-linked companies are in the process of being struck off the company registry.

North Korea and Malaysia have maintained cosy ties since the 1970s when former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad embraced the isolated state, in part to rebuff the United States.

Malaysian palm oil and rubber is exported to the communist state. Cars made by Malaysian national carmaker Proton have been sold to North Korea and used as taxis.

(Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

South Korea suggests North’s suspension from U.N. over airport killing

Yun Byung-se, Minister of Foreign Affairs of South Korea, addresses the Conference on Disarmament at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland February 28, 2017. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

By Stephanie Nebehay and Joseph Sipalan

GENEVA/KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – South Korea called for “collective measures” to punish North Korea for using chemical weapons to kill the estranged half-brother of its leader Kim Jong Un, as Malaysia said on Tuesday it would charge two women with murder over the airport attack.

Police have said the women smeared VX nerve agent, a chemical on a United Nations list of banned weapons of mass destruction, on Kim Jong Nam’s face in an assault captured on security cameras in the Malaysian capital’s airport on Feb. 13.

Speaking at the U.N.-backed Conference on Disarmament (CD) in Geneva on Tuesday, South Korea’s Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se said the use of chemical weapons was a “wake-up call” and the international community should act – including possibly suspending the isolated North’s seat at the United Nations.

North Korea has rejected allegations of its involvement in the killing of Kim Jong Nam, but U.S. and South Korean officials believe he was the victim of an assassination orchestrated by Pyongyang.

“Many international media pointed out that North Korea’s use of chemical weapons for the targeted killing in a third country sent a very clear message to the world,” South Korea’s Yun told the Geneva forum.

“Namely this impulsive, unpredictable, trigger-happy and brutal regime is ready and willing to strike anyone, anytime, anywhere.”

North Korea’s delegation at the conference told Reuters it would respond to Yun’s speech later on Tuesday.

Malaysian police arrested a Vietnamese woman, Doan Thi Huong, and an Indonesian, Siti Aishah, in the days after the attack.

Police are also holding one North Korean man and have identified seven other North Koreans wanted in connection with a case that reads like the plot to a spy movie.

Both women will be formally charged on Wednesday under section 302 of the penal code, which carries the death penalty, Malaysia’s attorney general, Mohamed Apandi Ali, confirmed to Reuters in a text message.

DEADLY NERVE AGENT

VX is one of the deadliest chemical weapons ever created, far more potent than Sarin, the gas used in deadly chemical attacks in Syria in 2013 and in an attack on the Tokyo subway by a Japanese doomsday cult in 1995.

“Just a few grams of VX is sufficient for mass killing,” Yun said.

“North Korea is reported to have not just grams but thousands of tonnes of chemical weapons, including VX, all over the country … The recent assassination is a wake-up call to all of us to North Korea’s chemical weapons capability and its intent to actually use them.”

North Korea has previously denied possessing chemical weapons.

States could invoke the Chemical Weapons Convention as the use of such agents was in “flagrant violation of international law”, Yun said. Malaysia is part of the 1993 pact prohibiting their production, transfer and use, but North Korea is not.

Once the Malaysian government releases the results of its investigation, the U.N. Security Council and state parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention should take up the case as a “high priority agenda”, Yun said.

States that have ratified the chemical weapons ban could invoke the treaty and “take collective measures”, he added.

“It could take the form of suspension of North Korea’s rights and privileges as a U.N. member,” he said.

‘REALITY TV PRANK’

Malaysia’s investigation into the killing has sparked diplomatic tension with North Korea, and on Tuesday a high- ranking delegation arrived in Kuala Lumpur from Pyongyang in a bid to smooth ties.

North Korea’s official media has made no mention of Kim Jong Nam, who had been living in exile, under Beijing’s protection, in the Chinese territory of Macau, and had criticised the regime of his family and his half-brother, Kim Jong Un.

But a report last week from the North’s KCNA state news agency blamed Malaysia for the death of one of its citizens there.

Security camera footage, which has been broadcast in the media, showed two women assaulting Kim Jong Nam in the departure hall of Kuala Lumpur International Airport. He died within 20 minutes.

Both of the women arrested have told diplomats from their countries that they had been paid to take part in what they believed was a prank for a reality television show.

Huong, the Vietnamese woman, was detained 48 hours after the murder in the same airport terminal where Kim Jong Nam was killed.

She is believed to be the woman wearing a white shirt emblazoned with the acronym “LOL”, whose image was caught on security cameras while waiting for a taxi after the attack.

The Indonesian woman, Siti Aishah, was detained a day later.

Police have said the women knew what they were doing when they attacked Kim Jong Nam and were instructed to wash their hands afterwards.

Police said Aishah fell sick, vomiting repeatedly while in custody possibly as a side-effect of VX, though Indonesian embassy officials have subsequently said she was in good health.

(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay in GENEVA, Joseph Sipalan and Angie Teo in KUALA LUMPUR and Zahra Matarani in JAKARTA; Writing by Alex Richardson; Editing by Robert Birsel)

South Korea says North Korean ministries organized assassination in Malaysia

Kim Jong Nam arrives at Beijing airport in Beijing, China, in this photo taken by Kyodo February 11, 2007.

By Ju-min Park

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean intelligence believes suspects wanted for the murder of the half-brother of North Korea’s leader included several officials who worked for the reclusive state’s foreign and security ministries, according to lawmakers in Seoul.

Kim Jong Nam was killed earlier this month at a Malaysian airport by assassins using VX nerve agent, a chemical capable of killing in minutes and listed by the United Nations as a weapon of mass destruction.

South Korea is acutely sensitive to developments in its unpredictable nuclear-armed neighbor, and intelligence agency officials have briefed lawmakers on the sensational killing of the estranged half-brother of the North’s leader Kim Jong Un.

North Korea has not acknowledged the victim is Kim Jong Nam. But South Korean and U.S. officials believe Kim, who had criticized his family’s control of the isolated state, was assassinated by agents of the North.

“Among eight suspects in this case four are from the ministry of state security and two who actually took action are from the foreign ministry,” Lee Cheol-woo, one of the lawmakers briefed by South Korean intelligence, told reporters.

“That is why it is a case of terrorism led by the state, directly organized by the ministry of state security and the foreign ministry,” Lee added.

Malaysian police have identified a total of eight North Koreans as suspects or as wanted for questioning. These include a North Korean embassy official believed to still be in Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysia’s health minister Subramaniam Sathasivam said on Sunday that Kim Jong Nam died within 15-20 minutes of being assaulted by two women who are believed to have smeared VX on his face.

He had been at Kuala Lumpur International airport to catch a flight to Macau, the Chinese territory where he had been living under Beijing’s protection.

The women, Indonesian and Vietnamese citizens, are in police custody and have told officials from their respective embassies that they believed they were taking part in a TV prank.

THREE TEAMS

Another South Korean lawmaker briefed by the intelligence agency, Kim Byung-kee, said the North Koreans had operated in three teams.

Two teams, each including officials from both North Korea’s state security and foreign ministries, were responsible for hiring women in Indonesia and Vietnam and bringing them to Malaysia to carry out the attack. The third team provided “support”.

He said South Korean intelligence said the North’s embassy official in Kuala Lumpur, Hyon Kwang Song, was linked to the state security ministry and part of the support team.

Malaysian police have said they may issue an arrest warrant for the diplomat if he does not cooperate, but it is unclear if they can do so given he has diplomatic immunity.

The one North Korean in police custody, Ri Jong Chol, was also believed to have been part of the support team, said Kim Byung-kee.

Malaysian authorities have not commented on the roles that any of the North Koreans played in the killing.

The investigation into the killing, and Malaysia’s refusal to hand over the body to North Korea before it is officially identified by the victim’s next of kin, has caused a diplomatic rift between two hitherto friendly governments.

(Additional reporting by Jack Kim; Writing by Kanupriya Kapoor; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

Malaysia to sweep Kuala Lumpur airport for toxic chemicals after Kim Jong Nam murder

Malaysian Police officers gather before a protest organized by Members of the youth wing of the National Front, Malaysia's ruling coalition, in front of the North Korea embassy, following the murder of Kim Jong Nam, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, February 23, 2017. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

By Emily Chow and Christophe Van Der Perre

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia will sweep one of the terminals at Kuala Lumpur international airport for toxic chemicals after Kim Jong Nam was murdered there with a nerve agent last week, as authorities said they would issue an arrest warrant if a North Korean diplomat wanted over the death did not come forward.

Kim Jong Nam was murdered on Feb. 13 at the budget terminal of Kuala Lumpur’s main airport with VX nerve agent, a chemical classified by the United Nations as a weapon of mass destruction.

The police forensic team, fire department and the Atomic Energy Licensing Board will be conducting the sweep at the airport, Malaysian cops said in a statement on Saturday.

The sweep will be conducted from 1 a.m. on Feb. 26 (1700 GMT on Feb. 25), the police said.

The airport terminal will not be closed, but the search areas would be cordoned off, a police official told Reuters.

VX is one of the deadliest chemical weapons created by man: just 10 milligrams of the nerve agent or a single drop is enough to kill in minutes, experts have said.

Kim Jong Nam was waiting at the departure hall when he was attacked by two women who splashed his face with the liquid. He died en route to hospital.

Malaysian police on Friday said one of the women had suffered from the effects of VX and had been vomiting.

The two women – one Indonesian and one Vietnamese – have been detained, along with a North Korean man. Seven other North Koreans have been named as suspects or are wanted for questioning.

Malaysian police are also sweeping other locations in Kuala Lumpur the suspects may have visited.

Selangor state police chief Abdul Samah Mat said earlier on Saturday authorities raided an apartment in an upscale Kuala Lumpur suburb earlier this week in connection with the killing, and were checking for any traces of chemicals in the apartment.

DIPLOMAT WANTED

Samah also said 44-year-old Hyon Kwang Song, a second secretary at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur, wanted for questioning in the murder has yet to come forward. He is one of the seven North Koreans wanted in connection with the case.

“Reasonable” time will be given for the diplomat to come forward before police take further action, Samah said, adding that if the diplomat did not cooperate, the police would issue a notice under Malaysian law, compelling him to appear before the investigation team.

“And if he failed to turn up upon given this notice, then we will go to the next step by getting a warrant of arrest from the court,” he told reporters.

It was unclear if the embassy official can be detained since police have said he has diplomatic immunity.

Four others are believed to have fled to North Korea, while two are still in Malaysia. The whereabouts of another North Korean, Ri Ji U, are unknown, Samah said.

“PRANK WITH BABY OIL”

Meanwhile, Indonesian embassy officials on Saturday met with their national Siti Aishah – one of the suspects detained in connection with the murder – for the first time since her arrest.

Aishah told embassy officials that she believed she was part of a reality television show when she lunged at Kim Jong Nam at the airport with what she believed was baby oil.

She said she had been paid 400 Malaysian ringgit ($90.15) to participate in the act.

“She only said in general that somebody asked her to do this activity… She said she was given a kind of oil, like baby oil,” Indonesian deputy ambassador Andreano Erwin told reporters after meeting Aishah.

She will be detained until March 1, after which police will decide whether to prosecute or release her, Erwin said.

Vietnamese officials also met with their national but declined to comment.

Malaysian police have said the two women had rehearsed the attack before carrying it out and had been instructed to wash their hands afterwards.

(Additional reporting by Rozanna Latiff and Ebrahim Harris; Writing by A. Ananthalakshmi and Kanupriya Kapoor; Editing by Kim Coghill, Shri Navaratnam and Ros Russell)

Malaysia requests Interpol alert on four North Koreans over airport murder

Kim Jong Nam arrives at Beijing airport in Beijing, China, in this photo taken by Kyodo February 11, 2007. Picture taken February 11, 2007. Kyodo/via REUTERS

By Rozanna Latiff

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia has requested Interpol to put an alert out to apprehend four North Korean suspects in the murder of the estranged half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Malaysia’s police chief said on Thursday.

Kim Jong Nam, who was killed in Kuala Lumpur’s main airport on Feb. 13, had spoken out publicly in the past against his family’s dynastic control of the isolated, nuclear-armed state.

South Korean and U.S. officials say he was assassinated by North Korean agents. North Korea has not acknowledged his death.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Malaysian police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said the two women – one Vietnamese, one Indonesian – arrested last week had been paid for carrying out the fatal assault on Kim Jong Nam using a fast-acting poison.

He declined to say if they had been used by a foreign intelligence agency.

Police are also holding one North Korean man, but are seeking another seven in connection with the murder.

Hyon Kwang Song, a second secretary at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur, and Kim Uk Il, an employee of state-owned airline Air Koryo, are among three North Koreans wanted for questioning who are still believed to be in Malaysia.

Khalid told reporters that a request had been made to Interpol to put out an alert to apprehend the other four, who are believed to have made their way back to North Korea, having fled Malaysia on the day of the killing..

Khalid said a police request has been sent to the North Korean embassy requesting to interview the diplomat and airline employee.

“If you have nothing to hide, you should not be afraid to cooperate, you should cooperate,” Khalid said.

He said an arrest warrant would not be issued for the embassy official, as he has diplomatic immunity, but that “the process of the law will take place” if the airline official does not come forward.

Earlier on Thursday, an official from the North Korea embassy in Kuala Lumpur said no formal request to interview either man had been received, and he did not respond when asked if the embassy would cooperate should it receive one.

Meantime, Indonesia has sought consular access to Siti Aishah, the Indonesian woman held in detention.

“I have instructed our foreign minister to provide assistance…and protection to Siti Aishah through a lawyer. So there can be some clarity on whether or not she is a victim,” Indonesian President Joko Widodo said in Jakarta.

DIPLOMATIC ROW

A friendship between Malaysia and North Korea, going back to the 1970s, has soured in the wake of Kim Jong Nam’s murder.

North Korea unsuccessfully tried to prevent an autopsy, accusing Malaysia of working with South Korean and other “hostile forces.”

Malaysia responded by recalling its ambassador to Pyongyang for consultations.

North Korea’s ambassador to Kuala Lumpur has said the Malaysian investigation cannot be trusted, and that the three suspects that have been detained should be released immediately.

And on Thursday, North Korea’s state-run KCNA news agency reported that Pyongyang blamed Malaysia for its citizen’s death and accused it of adopting an “unfriendly attitude”.

The KCNA report only referred to the murder victim as a “citizen”, as Pyongyang rejects reports that it is the half brother of the country’s leader.

Malaysian police have still to receive DNA samples from Kim Jong Nam’s next of kin, Khalid said. He also denied that Malaysian police officers had been sent to Macau, the Chinese territory where Kim Jong Nam and his family had been living under Beijing’s protection.

(Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; Writing by A. Ananthalakshmi; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

Malaysia says still to establish what killed North Korean

Malaysian police officers gather in front of the gate of the morgue at Kuala Lumpur General Hospital where Kim Jong Nam's body is held for autopsy in Malaysia February 21, 2017. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

By Joseph Sipalan and Rozanna Latiff

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – 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 what police believe was a fast-acting poison. Malaysia’s deputy prime minister has previously named the victim as Kim Jong Nam, though authorities have been unable to conduct DNA tests.

“The cause of death and identity are still pending,” Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, director general of health at Malaysia’s health ministry, told reporters.

The health ministry official said no DNA samples had been received from the next of kin.

South Korean and U.S. officials have said they believe North Korean agents assassinated Kim Jong Nam, who had been living in the Chinese territory of Macau under Beijing’s protection.

Malaysia has urged Kim Jong Nam’s next-of-kin to claim the body and help with the inquiry, which has sparked a diplomatic row with North Korea, whose officials want the body handed over directly.

Malaysia recalled its envoy from Pyongyang after North Korea’s ambassador in Kuala Lumpur cast doubt on the impartiality of Malaysia’s investigation and said the victim was not Kim Jong Nam.

North Korean ambassador Kang Chol said on Monday that his country “cannot trust” Malaysia’s handling of the probe into the killing.

Responding on Tuesday, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak denounced the ambassador’s comments and reiterated that the investigation would be fair.

“The statement by the ambassador was totally uncalled for. It was diplomatically rude. But Malaysia will stand firm,” Najib told reporters.

Authorities have still to release an autopsy report.

But, the health ministry official said a post mortem examination carried out two days after the death found no evidence of a heart attack or of any puncture wounds on the body.

Malaysian police have arrested a North Korean suspect, and say that four other North Koreans fled the country later on the day of the attack.

Two women from Vietnam and Indonesia have also been arrested on suspicion of carrying out the assault on Kim Jong Nam. There is speculation that they administered a poison by wiping it or spraying it on his face.

Airport camera footage released on Monday by Japanese broadcaster Fuji TV shows the moment the women appeared to assault Kim Jong Nam, who is later seen asking airport officials for medical help.

Reuters could not independently verify the authenticity of that footage.

(Reporting by Joseph Sipalan; Writing by Kanupriya Kapoor; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

Malaysian P.M says probe into airport killing will be fair

North Korean ambassador to Malaysia Kang Chol (C) leaves a morgue at Kuala Lumpur General Hospital where Kim Jong Nam's body is held for autopsy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

By Rozanna Latiff and Joseph Sipalan

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Monday his government’s investigation of the killing of the North Korean leader’s half-brother, Kim Jong Nam, will be “objective”, as tensions rose between the countries.

Earlier on Monday, Malaysia said it had recalled its envoy from Pyongyang and summoned North Korea’s ambassador in Kuala Lumpur, who again cast doubt on the impartiality of Malaysia’s investigation into the murder and said the victim was not Kim Jong Nam.

“We have no reason why we want to do something to paint North Korea in a bad light, but we will be objective,” Najib told reporters in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur.

The son of Kim Jong Nam, 22-year-old Kim Han Sol, was expected to arrive in the Malaysian capital from Macau late on Monday, according to an airline source and a media report.

Malaysian authorities have said they will release the body of the victim, believed to have been killed by North Korean agents, to the next of kin.

CCTV footage, released by Japanese broadcaster Fuji TV, appeared to show Kim Jong Nam being attacked at Kuala Lumpur International Airport last Monday by a woman believed to have wiped a fast-acting poison on his face.

Reuters could not independently verify the authenticity of the video, and police officials were not immediately available for comment.

Kim Jong Nam, 46, who had been living in the Chinese territory of Macau under Beijing’s protection, had spoken out publicly against his family’s dynastic control of isolated, nuclear-armed North Korea.

South Korean legislators last week cited their spy agency as saying the young and unpredictable North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, had issued a “standing order” for his half-brother’s assassination, and that there had been a failed attempt in 2012.

CHASING SUSPECTS

Malaysian police said they were hunting four North Koreans who fled from the country on the day of the attack, having already detained one North Korean man, a Vietnamese woman, an Indonesian woman, and a Malaysian man.

At least three of the wanted North Koreans caught an Emirates flight to Dubai from Jakarta late on the day of the attack, an immigration official in Indonesia told Reuters.

Malaysia’s Star newspaper reported that all four had returned to North Korea.

North Korea had sought to prevent Malaysia from conducting an autopsy, insisting the body be handed over. Its envoy in Kuala Lumpur criticized Malaysian authorities for “delaying” the release of the body.

“At the moment we cannot trust the investigation by the Malaysian police,” ambassador Kang Chol told reporters after talks at the foreign ministry.

He said the embassy had only identified the victim as Kim Chol, based on the passport found on the dead man, and suggested a joint investigation with Malaysian authorities. Kim Jong Nam had been caught using fake travel documents in the past.

Malaysia’s foreign ministry said it had recalled its ambassador to North Korea “for consultations”, and said investigations were being carried out in compliance with the law.

“Any suggestion to the contrary is deeply insulting to Malaysia, as is the suggestion that Malaysia is in collusion with any foreign government,” Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said in a statement.

Malaysia’s health minister said autopsy results could be released by Wednesday.

Malaysia is one of the few countries that maintains ties with reclusive North Korea, and the dispute could further isolate the impoverished state.

“GETTING BOLDER”

South Korea, acutely sensitive to events in its volatile neighbor, convened a meeting of its National Security Council.

Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn told the meeting that it was nearly certain that North Korea was behind the killing.

“The murder carried out in public at an international airport of a third country is an unforgivable and inhumane criminal act and clearly demonstrates the recklessness and brutality of the North Korean regime that will spare no avenues when it comes to perpetuating itself,” Hwang said.

“The North Korean regime’s terrorism tactics are getting bolder so we must be more vigilant.”

South Korean and U.S. officials had earlier said the killing was probably carried out by North Korean agents.

Grainy CCTV images showed Kim, wearing a light-colored jacket and trousers and with a backpack on one shoulder, heading for an automatic check-in counter in the airport departure hall.

A woman approached Kim from behind on the left and another – identified by Fuji as the Vietnamese woman, wearing a white shirt – walks rapidly up behind him from his right, before what appears to be a scuffle takes place.

In footage taken from another angle, the woman in the white shirt appears to lunge from behind and throw something over his head, locking her arms around him briefly.

As the woman in white quickly walks away, the second woman also moves off rapidly in another direction.

Later footage shows the portly, balding middle-aged man stumbling, wiping his face, and seeking help from people while gesturing to his eyes before being escorted to a clinic.

The mother of the detained Indonesian woman told Reuters that her daughter, Siti Aishah, had been duped into believing she was part of a television show or advertisement.

According to Malaysian media, the Vietnamese suspect, Doan Thi Huong, told police she had been tricked into taking part in what she thought was a practical joke.

There is speculation that China’s patience with North Korea could be tested by the killing, because Kim Jong Nam had been living in Macau, where he was headed when he was attacked.

China said on Saturday it had suspended all coal imports from the North, a vital source of revenue.

China is seen to be irritated by the North’s repeated aggression, including two nuclear tests since early 2016 and a Feb. 12 intermediate-range ballistic missile launch, the latest in a series of missile tests.

(Additional reporting by Jack Kim in Seoul and Elaine Lies in TOKYO; Writing by Praveen Menon and Kanupriya Kapoor; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore, Robert Birsel and Mike Collett-White)

Malaysia arrests North Korean man as row over Kim Jong Nam’s death escalates

police officer looks at hospital staff

By Emily Chow and Liz Lee

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysian police said on Saturday they had arrested a North Korean man in connection with the murder of the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, as a diplomatic spat over his body escalated.

Kim Jong Nam died this week after being assaulted at Kuala Lumpur International Airport with what was thought to be a fast-acting poison. South Korean and U.S. officials have said he was assassinated by North Korean agents.

Malaysian police said the latest arrest connected with the murder was made on Friday night, and the suspect was identified as Ri Jong Chol, born on May 6, 1970. He was in possession of a Malaysian i-Kad, which is an identification card given to foreign workers, they added.

“He is suspected to be involved in the death of a North Korean male,” read a statement.

The police chief for Selangor state, Abdul Samah Mat, said the suspect had been remanded in police custody.

Two female suspects, one an Indonesian and the other carrying Vietnamese travel documents, have already been arrested, while a Malaysian man has been detained. At least three more suspects are at large, government sources have said.

Kim Jong Nam, the eldest son of the late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, had spoken out publicly against his family’s dynastic control of isolated, nuclear-armed North Korea.

South Korea’s intelligence agency told lawmakers in Seoul that Kim had been living with his second wife in the Chinese territory of Macau, under China’s protection.

He had been at the Kuala Lumpur airport to catch a flight to Macau when he was killed. An autopsy is being performed at a hospital in the capital city.

Selangor state police chief Abdul Samah told Reuters that the autopsy report was not complete yet. He dismissed media reports that a second autopsy would have to be conducted.

DIPLOMATIC ISOLATION

North Korea said in the early hours of Saturday that it would categorically reject Malaysia’s autopsy report on the death of Kim Jong Nam, and accused Malaysia of “colluding with outside forces”, in a veiled reference to rival nation South Korea.

Malaysia hit back by saying the country’s rules must be followed. The foreign ministry has yet to make any comment.

Health minister Dr S.Subramaniam told state news agency Bernama that Malaysia was waiting for the toxicology report to complete the autopsy.

He said the autopsy report would hopefully be released “within this week”.

The case threatens to weaken North Korea’s ties with Malaysia, one of the few countries that has maintained good diplomatic relations with Pyongyang.

North Korea’s nuclear arms and weapons programs have alarmed the West, most recently its test of a ballistic missile earlier this month in its first direct challenge to the international community since Donald Trump became U.S. president.

Pyongyang’s main ally and trading partner is China, which is irritated by its repeated aggressive actions but rejects suggestions from the United States and others that it could be doing more to rein in its neighbor.

On Saturday, China said it had further tightened trade restrictions with North Korea by suspending all imports of coal starting Feb. 19, although it did not say why. Coal exports to China are a vital source of revenues for Pyongyang.

ROW OVER AUTOPSY

Kim Jong Nam was assaulted at the low cost terminal of Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Monday with what is believed to be fast acting poison before he could board a flight to Macau. He sought help but died on the way to the hospital.

North Korea demanded on Friday night that Kim Jong Nam’s body be released immediately. It had earlier tried to persuade Malaysian authorities not to carry out an autopsy.

“The Malaysian side forced the post-mortem without our permission and witnessing,” the North Korean ambassador Kang Chol told reporters outside the hospital where the body of Kim Jong Nam is being kept.

“We will categorically reject the result of the post mortem … ”

He said Kim Jong Nam had a diplomatic passport and was under the consular protection of North Korea.

(Additional reporting by Meng Meng and David Stanway in Beijing; Writing by Praveen Menon and A. Ananthalakshmi; Editing by Michael Perry and Mike Collett-White)