Seoul accuses Pyongyang of being behind the death of Kim Jong-nam, leader Kim Jong-un’s half-brother. Malaysian detectives say that four North Koreans, suspected of killing Nam with fast-acting poison at Kuala Lumpur Airport, have fled the country.
“We believe the North Korean regime is behind this incident considering five suspects are North Koreans,” Jeong Joon-hee, spokesman at the South Korean Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korea affairs, told a briefing on Sunday, Reuters reports .
“Considering North Korea has so far committed crimes against humanity and terror acts, we, together with the international community, are closely watching this brutal, reckless incident with serious concerns,” Joon-hee said, according to AP.
Malaysian police said on Saturday they had arrested a North Korean man in connection to the murder of Kim Jong-nam. The suspect was identified as 46-year-old Ri Jong Chol.
“He is suspected to be involved in the death of a North Korean male,” a police statement said.
Investigators are on the hunt for four other suspects who fled the country.
Malaysia’s deputy national police chief, Noor Rashid Ismail, told a news conference on Sunday that Malaysia has teamed up with Interpol to track down the four North Koreans.
“The four suspects are holding normal passports, not diplomatic passports,” he said, as quoted by Reuters.
“Next plan is to get them. We of course have international cooperation especially with Interpol, bilateral involvement with the country involved, we will go through those avenues to get the people involved.”
“I am not going to disclose where they are,” AP quoted Ismail as saying.
He named the four who are at large as Ri Ji Hyon, Hong Song Hac, O Joong Gil, and Ri Jae Nam, with the youngest aged 33, the eldest 57.
