Malaysian police formally ID Kim Jong Nam in airport attack
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Malaysian police on Friday formally identified Kim Jong Nam as the victim of a fatal nerve agent attack at Kuala Lumpur’s airport, an expected but significant development in a case that has broken down the once-warm ties between North Korea and Malaysia.
Kim is the long-estranged half brother of North Korea’s ruler, and the North has refused to acknowledge he was the victim of the Feb. 13 murder. Instead, North Korea refers to him as Kim Chol, the name on the passport Kim was carrying when he was attacked in a crowded airport terminal.
“We have established that Kim Chol is Kim Jong Nam,” Malaysian national police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said. “We have fulfilled the requirements of the laws on his identification.”
He refused to say how police identified Kim, saying “the safety and security of the witnesses” were at stake.