Written by :
Published on :
The women suspected of fatally poisoning the half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un were reportedly trained to coat their hands with toxic chemicals then wipe them on Kim Jong Nam’s face. Police divulged the information Wednesday morning.
Kim Jong Nam was en route to the Chinese gambling haven of Macau when he was approached by the women at Kuala Lumpur’s budget airport.
Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar told reporters that authorities are searching for two new North Korean suspects, including the second secretary of North Korea’s embassy in Kuala Lumpur and an employee of North Korea’s state-owned airline Air Koryo.
“We hope that the Korean embassy will cooperate with us, allow us to interview them and interview them quickly,” he said. “If not, we will compel them to come to us.”
Khalid claimed the women knew they were handling poisonous materials at the time of the attack. One of those arrested claimed she was led to believe she had taken part in a practical joke for a popular television show. Khalid could not confirm whether North Korea’s government was behind the February 13 attack.
Authorities believe those four provided the toxin. “That’s why we asked the North Korean Embassy to trace them and hand them over to us.” He said, though, that Malaysian authorities had received no help so far from North Korea.
Determining the cause of Kim Jong Nam’s death has proven difficult.
Malaysian authorities said Monday that Kim did not suffer a heart attack and had no puncture wounds, such as those a needle would have left, but they were still awaiting lab reports.
- Jagajeet Chiba and Reuters Contributed to This Report
