Chinese police arrested several North Koreans dispatched to Beijing on suspicion of plotting to murder Kim Jong Un’s 22-year-old nephew, South Korea’s JoongAng Ilbo newspaper reported.
Two of seven North Korean agents were arrested over the alleged plot to kill Kim Han Sol, whose father Kim Jong Nam was assassinated in Malaysia earlier this year, the newspaper said, citing an unidentified person familiar with North Korean issues.
Some agents are being interrogated in special facilities on the outskirts of Beijing, the paper said, without elaborating on whether the other five were arrested. China’s foreign ministry didn’t immediately respond to a faxed request for comment. [Bloomberg]
You can read more at the link, but if this plot was broken up in China it leads me to believe that Kim Han-sol must be in hiding in China under Chinese protection.
It appears that the family of the assassinated Kim Jong-nam are in deep hiding, but the eldest child Kim Han-sol has released a Youtube video thanking China, the US and the Netherlands for their assistance:
Kim Han-sol
Kim Han-sol, the eldest son of Kim Jong-nam, who was assassinated last month at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, delivered a message in a video posted online. It appeared that he, his mother and sister were being sheltered or otherwise aided by China, the U.S. and the Netherlands.
“My name is Kim Han-sol. I am from North Korea,” says the young man in the video, who calls himself, “part of the Kim family,” referring to the dynasty that has ruled North Korea with an iron fist for three generations, starting from his grandfather Kim Il Sung, the state’s founder, in 1948.
The man in the video is highly likely to be Kim Han-sol, who gave a TV interview in 2012 to Elisabeth Rehn, a former lawmaker and minister of defense in Finland. In the 2012 interview, he called North Korean leader Kim Jong-un a “dictator.”
To prove his identity, the man shows a North Korean diplomatic passport, but when he opens it to show its identification page, the image is blacked out on camera.
“My father has been killed a few days ago I am currently with my mother and sister,” said Kim. “And we are very grateful to …” The rest of that sentence is cut off.
At the end of the 40-second video, Kim said, “We hope this will get better soon.”
Kim does not reveal his location nor the filming date. A group called Cheollima Civil Defense uploaded the video at around 7 a.m. Wednesday on YouTube. Cheollima in Korean means a horse that can travel up to 400 kilometers (248 miles) a day. A message below the clip reads in Korean: “To the people of North Korea.” [Joong Ang Ilbo]
The man in the video who arrived at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport does have a pretty good resemblance to Kim Jong-nam:
There is no sign of Kim Han-sol at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2) following speculation that he was on his way here.
As at 11pm Monday, reporters were seen leaving KLIA2 after failing to confirm the arrival of Han-sol, the son of the Kim Jong-nam who was killed last Monday.
However, there was a slight commotion when a man, whom media suspected of being Han-sol stepped out of the domestic arrival gate.
The man, who was wearing a cap, earphones and a black face mask, walked away before the gathered media were able to ask him any questions.
Earlier in the day, a message circulated among the media that the 22-year-old son of murdered Kim Jong-nam would be touching down at KLIA2 at around 7.30pm. [The Star]
Kim Jong-un was finally able to kill his older brother and he had his agents resort to using poison needles again. Long time readers may remember that the Kim regime tried to kill ROK Drop favorite Park Sang-hak with a poison needle as well:
Kim Jong-nam
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s half-brother has been killed in Malaysia, a government source said Tuesday.
Kim Jong-nam was assassinated on Monday in Malaysia, the source said without revealing details.
Cable TV broadcaster TV Chosun reported that Kim was killed at an airport in Malaysia after being attacked by two unidentified female agents with “poisoned needles.” The suspects fled the scene and Malaysian police suspected North Korea was behind the killing.
If confirmed, Kim’s case would mark the most high-profile death under the Kim Jong-un regime since the execution of Jang Song-thaek in December 2013, the once-powerful uncle of the current leader.
Kim Jong-nam is the eldest son of late former leader Kim Jong-il and is living in a foreign country without holding any official title. He was born from his father’s nonmarital relationship with Sung Hae-rim, a South Korean-born actress who died in Moscow. [Yonhap]
For those that don’t know it has long been believed that Kim Jong-nam was China’s preferred back up plan if the North Korean regime was to collapse. With Kim Jong-nam now dead the only Kim’s left to rule North Korea are Kim Jong-nam’s other brother Kim Jong-chul who is considered too lady like to rule the country and his sister Kim Yo-jong is female and thus not a threat either. Plus both of them are part of his close inner circle where he can closely watch them.
That left Kim Jong-nam as a possible threat for someone looking to replace Kim Jong-un with another Kim and he is now gone. The only other possible replacement to Kim Jong-un that is not under his control is Kim Jong-nam’s son, Kim Han-sol who has been living in Europe. I would imagine he is some deep hiding right now after seeing his father executed because he could be next.
Kim Han-sol, a nephew of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, walks on the Le Havre campus of the prestigious French university Paris Institute of Political Studies, Sciences Po in Le Havre on Oct. 1, 2014. He is a son of the North’s late leader Kim Jong-il’s eldest son Kim Jong-nam. Kim Jong-nam was recently witnessed in Paris. (Yonhap)
