The half-brother of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un has been found dead in Kuala Lumpur, reported South Korean media Yonhap News Agency citing a South Korean government source.
Several other South Korean media have also reported the news, with TV Chosun, a cable television network, stating that that Kim Jong Nam was believed to have been assassinated by 2 female North Korean operatives yesterday (Monday, 13th February).
News is still scarce, but it is believed that the 45-year-old was poisoned at a Kuala Lumpur airport, and the suspects are currently still at large.
While talking to Reuters, Malaysian police has confirmed that an unidentified North Korean man died while en route to the hospital from a Kuala Lumpur airport. Police did not reveal the identify of the man, but an employee in the emergency ward of Putrajaya hospital disclosed that a Korean born in 1970 by the surname of Kim passed away there.
Kim Jong Nam was the eldest son of former leader Kim Jong-il and was once considered to be the leader of the country. However, he reportedly fell out of favor with his father in 2001 after his attempt to enter Japan on a false passport was foiled.
His later years were spent outside of North Korea and he has repeatedly talked about reforming North Korea. He has also been allegedly targeted for assassination by Kim Jong Un previously.
We’ll update this post with information as soon as we have it.
Sources: Channel NewsAsia, Reuters, The Wall Street Journal.
