Two large developments in the murder of Kim Jong-nam today. The first development is that the North Korean embassy has been linked to the murder:
Royal Malaysian Police chief Khalid Abu Bakar, left, addresses journalists in front of a screen displaying the details of the fifth North Korean suspect, Ri Ji-u, during a press conference at the Bukit Aman police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday. Detectives probing the assassination of Kim Jong-nam, half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, want to question a North Korean diplomat, Malaysia’s top policeman said. [AP/YONHAP]A second secretary at the North Korean Embassy in Malaysia is the latest suspect sought in the assassination of Kim Jong-nam, Malaysian police said Wednesday, the strongest proof yet that the communist regime masterminded the plot to kill North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s half brother.
In their second press briefing since Kim Jong-nam was killed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on the morning of Feb. 13, police said they were searching for a 44-year-old North Korean diplomat named Hyon Kwang-song, who arrived in Malaysia on Sept. 20, 2016. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
It makes sense that any murder of Kim Jong-nam would have had assistance from the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia should seriously consider shutting the place down considering the criminal activity conducted there. The second major development is that Malaysian authorities believe the two women who committed the attack knew what they were doing:
Khalid said the women knew they were handling poisonous materials during the attack, which occurred in a departure area of Kuala Lumpur’s budget airport, and had practiced the attack multiple times.
“We strongly believe it is a planned thing and that they have been trained to do that. This is not just like shooting a movie,” he told reporters. (………)
The case has perplexed leading forensic toxicologists who study murder by poison. They say the airport attack is one of the most bizarre cases in the books, and question how the two women could walk away unscathed after deploying an agent potent enough to kill Kim Jong Nam before he could even make it to the hospital.
Khalid noted the two women “were warned to take precautions,” and said security camera footage showed them quickly walking to restrooms after the attack to wash their hands. [Associated Press]
Malaysian authorities have completely ruled out the attack being a prank:
“We’re ruling out the possibility that the women thought the attack was a prank or even that they believed they were shooting a television show,” Khalid Abu Bakar was quoted by The Star, a news outlet in Malaysia, as saying.
“The lady was moving away with her hands toward the bathroom,” said Khalid, according to The New Straits Times, another Malaysian newspaper. “She was very aware that it was toxic and that she needed to wash her hands.” [Joong Ang Ilbo]
