Closed circuit television footage released Monday appears to show the moment that Kim Jong Nam was attacked and the events leading up to his death.
The footage, which first aired on TV in Japan, shows Kim being attacked at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2, walking over to a desk and then being escorted to a hospital clinic — both of which match the timeline of events released by authorities.
Kim, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, died on his way to hospital. Authorities believe that he was poisoned and the case is being treated as a murder investigation.
So far, police have arrested four suspects and looking for four more who were believed to have left Malaysia the day of the attack. Five of the eight are North Korean.
When asked if North Korea had ordered his murder, a top Malaysian police official merely said, “the four (on the run) hold North Korean nationality, that is all.”
Interpol is assisting in the search.
A diplomatic spat
The investigation into Kim’s death has sparked a diplomatic row between Malaysia and North Korea.
Pyongyang’s ambassador to Malaysia, Kang Chol, told reporters Monday that the investigation was being “politicized by Malaysia in collusion with South Korea.”
He claimed that the dead man was Kim Chol, a citizen of North Korea, and that requests for a DNA sample were “preposterous.”
Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister said the North Korean embassy in Malaysia confirmed Kim Jong Nam’s identity. He aded that Kim Jong Nam had been traveling with two passports, one under the name Kim Chol. Kim Jong Nam had a reputation for traveling with false documents.
Earlier Monday, the Malaysian government summoned Ambassador Kang after he accused officials in Kuala Lumpur of conspiring with “hostile forces” during the investigation.
Malaysia also recalled its own ambassador in Pyongyang, the Malaysian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
North Korea had previously said it opposes any autopsy that is done without their own officials present and has publicly demanded the country return the body.
But Selangor Police Chief Abdul Samah Mat said that without DNA from a next of kin, Malaysia wouldn’t hand over Kim’s body or release the autopsy report, which could reveal the cause of death.
