The developments add to the mystery surrounding the dramatic attack on Kim Jong Nam, who was ambushed at a Malaysian airport last week.
SEOUL — The death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s half brother remains a mystery, with Malaysian officials saying Tuesday that initial autopsy results show no evidence of a heart attack or puncture wounds.
In addition, no member of Kim Jong Nam’s family has come forward to verify his identity through DNA or claim his body.
The developments add to the mystery surrounding the dramatic attack on Kim Jong Nam, who was ambushed at Kuala Lumpur airport last week as he went to check in for a flight and apparently had poison applied to his face, authorities said. Initial reports suggested that he had been injected with a poison needle.
Noor Hisham Abdullah, Malaysia’s director general of health, said pathologists were still waiting for the results of lab tests to confirm the identity of the body and the cause of death.
[ North Korea says Malaysia can’t be trusted to investigate the killing of leader’s half brother ]
“We have to confirm with the lab report before we can make any conclusive remark,” he told reporters, declining to say when the lab results would be completed.
Noor Hisham also said that a second autopsy had not been conducted on Kim Jong Nam, contrary to widespread reports in the Malaysian media.
Authorities were also still waiting for a family member to come forward to provide DNA identification and claim the body.
