N Koreans started murder operation 2 months before: Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said on Tuesday (Feb 28) that police have found that North Korean men suspected of involvement in the murder of Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of the reclusive country's leader began their "operation" about two months ago.

A number of major local media, including the country's state-run news agency Bernama, quoted the deputy prime minister as saying so.

He is also quoted as saying that Malaysia is open to share investigative information with international intelligence agencies after the country completes legal processes.

Jong-nam is believed to have been killed with a deadly nerve toxin known as VX that was wiped on his face by two women at Terminal 2 of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport while waiting to fly to Macau.

Two foreign women have been arrested and are expected to be charged at the Sepang magistrate’s court in connection with his death tomorrow. They have been identified as Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong, 29, and Indonesian citizen Siti Aisyah, 25.

North Korea has since sent a delegation of diplomats to Malaysia to retrieve Jong-nam’s body and to seek the release of a North Korean arrested in the murder.

Malaysian police are still seeking four other North Koreans, including a senior embassy official, for questioning into Jong-nam’s death. KYODO NEWS