Malaysian police investigating the assassination of Kim Jong-nam announced that a North Korean diplomat and an employee of the North’s national airline, Air Koryo, are among those involved in the murder.
 
Malaysia's police chief, Inspector General Khalid Abu Bakar, said in a news conference in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday that he is confident that four out of five suspects of North Korean nationality have already arrived in Pyongyang.
 
He said the remaining suspect and two people involved in the assassination are still in Malaysia, including the second secretary at the North’s Embassy in Malaysia Hyon Kwang-song and Air Koryo employee Kim Wook-il.
 
Earlier, the police had unveiled the photos of Hyon and Kim, describing them as unidentified people in connection with the murder of the North Korean leader’s half brother.
 
Bakar said that the police have requested the North Korean embassy to permit the two allegedly involved to be questioned.
 
However, when asked if he believes North Korean agents were behind Kim’s murder, the police chief stopped short of elaborating, only adding the case is still being investigated.
 
He also said that reports that Kim Han-sol, the son of Kim Jong-nam, has entered Malaysia are all rumors, and no bereaved family member has come forward.
 
He said if Kim’s family members come, they will be protected, adding that the police have again requested Kim’s family members to submit DNA samples as part of efforts to confirm the body’s identification.
 
According to the Malaysian police, Kim’s family members could contact Malaysian authorities without having to go through the North’s embassy.
 
A total of four people have been arrested, including Ri Jong-chol, a Vietnamese woman, an Indonesian woman and the boyfriend of the Indonesian. He said that the boyfriend had since been released.
 
Malaysian police have concluded as not true the two female suspects’ claims that they took part in the crime with the understanding that the act was a mere prank.

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