The body of Kim Jong Un's slain half-brother has become the subject of a diplomatic turf war between North Korea and Malaysia, where he was poisoned
The body of Kim Jong Un’s slain half-brother has become the subject of a diplomatic turf war between North Korea and Malaysia, where he was poisoned earlier this month with a powerful nerve agent.
A high-level delegation of North Koreans arrived in Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, on Tuesday to try to claim the body of Kim Jong Nam, NPR’s Elise Hu reports from Seoul.
«The North Korean delegation — which includes former North Korean diplomats — told reporters it is seeking the body of Kim as well as the release of one North Korean suspect that’s in custody in connection with the death,» Elise reports. «Malaysia is refusing to give up the body until it gets DNA samples from Kim Jong Nam’s immediate family for positive identification of the body. »
Kim suddenly fell ill at the Kuala Lumpur airport, and surveillance video shows two women approaching him and holding a cloth over his face. Malaysia’s health minister later said that he died within 20 minutes due to the effects of the VX nerve agent , one of the world’s deadliest chemical weapons.
