The North Korean embassy has confirmed the identity of the North Korean man killed at KL International Airport 2 on Monday as Kim Jong-nam (pix), the half-brother of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said Jong-nam had travelled using an authentic North Korean passport issued under the name “Kim Chol.”
“The North Korean embassy has confirmed the identity. This is what the police informed us.
“We have looked into the possibility that it is a fake passport.
Read also: Diplomatic passport was in name of one Kim Chol
“I think he carries two different identities (passports). It is an authentic passport,” he told a press conference here.
It is believed that Jong-nam had used the passport under the name of Kim Chol to travel incognito.
Ahmad Zahid gave assurance that security at KLIA2 “is at the highest level” despite the incident.
“Our airports’ safety is at the highest level. We are equipped with high definition cameras. This is a very, very isolated case,” he said.
Jong-nam, 45, was killed by two women who splashed his face with a chemical at the KLIA2 departure hall at about 9am on Monday. He was about to leave for Macau. The women later got into a taxi and fled.
Read also: Kim Jong-nam: The unfortunate crown prince’s downfall
One of the women, aged 29, who was in possession of a Vietnam travel document bearing the name of ‘Doan Thi Huong’ was arrested on Wednesday when she tried to board a flight out.
The other woman who has an Indonesian passport under the name of Siti Aishah was nabbed at 2am Thursday.
Both women have been remanded for seven days to assist in the investigations.
Police are looking for four men who were in the company of the two women at the airport when Jong-nam was killed.
Read also: Korean dictator ordered brother killed, South Korean spy chief says
