SEOUL, South Korea
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s half-brother has reportedly been killed in Malaysia, according to multiple South Korean reports and Malaysian police sources Tuesday.
TV Chosun said 45-year-old Kim Jong-nam was assassinated at an airport in Malaysia by a pair of unidentified women who allegedly murdered him using poisoned needles before escaping from the scene.
Amid immediate speculation that North Korean agents were involved, a Seoul government source cited by Yonhap News Agency confirmed the assassination.
In a statement, Malaysian police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said the deceased's passport identified him as Kim Chol. His date of birth was June 1970 and place of birth was mentioned as Pyongyang, Bakar said.
"Investigation is in progress and a post-mortem examination request has been made to ascertain the cause of death," he added.
Malaysian state police's Criminal Investigations Department chief Fadzil Ahmat told Anadolu Agency the police were now seeking cooperation from North Korean authorities to confirm and verify the deceased.
Jong-Nam was traveling alone at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport and was planning to take a flight to Macau at 10 a.m. local time (0200 GMT) Monday, Ahmat said.
"While waiting for the flight, a woman came from behind and covered his face with a cloth laced with a liquid.
"Following this, the man was seen struggling for help and managed to obtain the assistance of an airport staff, complaining that his eyes and face are burning as a result of the liquid.
"Moments later, he was sent to the Putrajaya Hospital where he was confirmed dead. The case have been classified as sudden death pending post-mortem report. The post-mortem will be conducted after getting consent from the North Korean embassy," Ahmat added.
Kim Jong-nam -- the eldest son of late former leader Kim Jong-il -- was born out of wedlock to a South Korean actress. He was at one point seen as a potential successor to Pyongyang’s throne before being frozen out in 2001 for trying to visit Disneyland in Japan.
His younger half-brother, Kim Jong-un, has overseen a notorious purge of officials since taking power in 2011, including the execution of his own uncle Jang Song-thaek in 2013.
Following Jang’s death, security around Kim Jong-nam and his family was said to have been tightened, particularly as the exiled son of a dictatorial dynasty had become openly critical of the regime.
Reports suggested at the time, for example, that Kim Jong-nam’s older son studying in France was being accompanied by police at a Le Havre university campus.
*Anadolu Agency's P. Prem Kumar contributed to this report from Kuala Lumpur.
