KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (Reuters) — Footage from airport cameras purportedly showing the assault on the half-brother of the North Korean leader emerged on Monday (February 20) as a row between Malaysia and North Korea escalated over the handling of the investigation into the killing of Kim Jong Nam.
CCTV footage, released by Japanese broadcaster Fuji TV, purported to show Kim Jong Nam being assaulted in Kuala Lumpur International Airport by a woman, who is believed to have wiped a fast-acting poison on his face.
The grainy CCTV images, posted on several websites, showed Kim, wearing a light-coloured jacket and trousers and with a backpack on one shoulder, heading for an automatic check-in counter in the airport departure hall.
A woman approaches Kim from behind on the left and another – identified by Fuji TV as a Vietnamese woman, wearing a white shirt – walks rapidly up behind him from his right, before what appears to be a scuffle takes place.
In footage taken from another angle the woman in the white shirt appears to lunge from behind and throw something over his head, locking her arms around him briefly.
As she quickly walks away, the second woman also moves off rapidly in another direction, although it was not clear what role she had in the assault.
Later footage showed the portly, balding middle-aged man stumbling, wiping his face, and seeking help from people while gesturing to his eyes before being escorted to a clinic.
Just as he enters the clinic his steps appear unsteady, and as he goes inside medical personnel appear to move urgently.
Reuters could not independently verify the authenticity of the video, and police officials were not immediately available for comment.
Malaysian police are hunting four North Koreans who fled from the country on the day of the attack, having already detained one North Korean man, a Vietnamese woman, an Indonesian woman, and a Malaysian man.
The mother of the detained Indonesian woman told Reuters that her daughter, Siti Aishah, had been duped into believing she was part of a television show or advertisement.
According to Malaysian media reports, the Vietnamese suspect, Doan Thi Huong, told police she had been tricked into taking part in what she thought was a practical joke.
Malaysia recalled its envoy from Pyongyang and summoned North Korea’s ambassador in Kuala Lumpur, who again cast doubt on the impartiality of the Malaysian investigation and said the victim was not Kim Jong Nam.
South Korean and U.S. officials have said the killing of Kim Jong Nam was probably carried out by North Korean agents.