Malaysia on Friday said that it will not release the body of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's half brother, Kim Jong-nam, unless they receive DNA samples from his family. Pyongyang had requested the Malaysian government to release the body of their leader's brother.
Autopsy of North Korean leader's brother completed, second woman detained in case
Malaysian authorities are probing the assassination of Kim who was reportedly poisoned at the Kuala Lumpur airport by two female assassins allegedly working for the North Korean nation. Reports state the female agents sprayed some toxins in Kim's face at the airport.
Forensic specialists are doing an autopsy to determine the toxin used on Kim, despite North Korea's objection to post-mortem examination.
"So far no family member or next of kin has come to identify or claim the body. We need a DNA sample of a family member to match the profile of the dead person. North Korea has submitted a request to claim the body, but before we release the body we have to identify who the body belongs to," Selangor state police chief Abdul Samah Mat told AFP.
Chemistry department's Dr Cornelia Charito Siricord said the laboratory technicians are currently working on the blood and tissue samples and would "conduct the analysis as soon as possible," news agency Bernama reported.
Malaysian police have detained two women, one travelling on a Vietnamese passport and other on Indonesian documents, for interrogation. Reports state that the authorities are also questioning a Malaysian man in the case.
Kim had been planning to travel to Macau on Monday when he fell ill at the terminal of Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). "The deceased ... felt like someone grabbed or held his face from behind. He felt dizzy, so he asked for help at the ... counter of KLIA," Malaysian police official Fadzil Ahmat said. He added that Kim was taken to the airport clinic and then subsequently to a nearby hospital, but he died in an ambulance on his way to the medical facility.
