Man With North Korean Passport Arrested for Link to Murder of Kim Jong-nam
It looks like Malaysian authorities may have caught one of the North Korean operatives behind the assassination of Kim Jong-nam:
One of the four men sought by police over the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s half-brother Kim Jong-nam has been detained.
It is learnt that the suspect was arrested after police raided a condominium in Jalan Kuchai Lama at about 11pm on Friday.
The 47-year-old suspect was found to be holding a North Korean passport at the time of arrest.
Three more men are being hunted by police in the investigation into Jong-nam’s murder. [The Star]
It is going to be very interesting to see what they find out from this man. You would think the Kim regime would have had a better escape plan for their operatives if this man is indeed linked to the crime.
UPDATE #1:
Malaysian authorities have identified the North Korean man they arrested as 46-year old, Ri Jong-chol:
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. [Reuters]
This whole Trick the Girls into Killing Someone is cute and clever in a cartoonish way… but come on… there are too many people and too many points of failure.
Perhaps there is some deeper message this was supposed to send…
…but it sure seems the old tried and true Motorcycle With Machine Gun in Traffic Away from Airport or even Magnetic Bomb on Car methods would have been more efficient.
North Koreans watch too many movies.
NK will insist that this man be extradited to NK to face trial, lol.
I just added an update to the posting above. Malaysia has identified the person they arrested as 46 year old Ri Jong-chol.