An assassination, diplomatic tension and a month-long probe later, three suspects in Kim Jong Nam's murder fly back to North Korea with his body in exchange for nine Malaysians in that country
The Malaysians, who were stranded in Pyongyang, North Korea , walk with Malaysia's Foreign minister Anifah Aman (center right) after arriving at Kuala Lumpur international airport. Pics/AFP
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Kuala Lumpur: Three North Koreans wanted for questioning over the murder of the estranged half-brother of their country's leader returned home on Friday along with the body of victim Kim Jong Nam after Malaysia agreed a swap deal with the reclusive state. Malaysian police took statements from the three before they were allowed to leave the country.
"We have obtained whatever we want from them... They have assisted us and they have been allowed to leave," police chief Khalid Abu Bakar told a news conference in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, saying there were no grounds to hold the men. Kim Jong Nam, the elder half-brother of the North's Kim Jong Un, was killed at Kuala Lumpur's airport on February 13 in a bizarre assassination using VX nerve agent.
Kim Jong Nam was assassinated on February 13
Malaysian authorities released Kim's body on Thursday in a deal that secured the release of nine Malaysian citizens held in Pyongyang after a drawn out diplomatic spat. Malaysian police had named eight North Koreans they wanted to question in the case, including the three given safe passage to leave. Television footage showed Hyon Kwang Song, the second secretary at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur, and Kim Uk Il, a North Korean state airline employee on the flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
The police chief confirmed they were accompanied by compatriot Ri Ji U, also known as James, who had been hiding with them at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur. The other North Koreans named by Malaysian investigators are all back in North Korea. The nine Malaysians who had been trapped in Pyongyang arrived in Kuala Lumpur early on Friday on board a small Bombardier business jet operated by the Malaysian air force.
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North Koreans wanted for questioning in Kim Jong Nam's assassination
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