SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Pyongyang’s state media on Thursday blasted Malaysia for an “illegal and immoral” autopsy on a man believed be the half-brother of North Korea’s leader, breaking a 10-day silence on the airport assassination.
“Malaysia is obliged to hand his body to the DPRK (North Korea) side as it made an autopsy and forensic examination of it in an illegal and immoral manner”, the North’s Korean Jurists Commitee said, in comments carried by KCNA.
Malaysia has not released the corpse “under the absurd pretext” that it needs a DNA sample from the dead man’s family.
“This proves that the Malaysian side is going to politicize the transfer of the body in utter disregard of international law and morality and thus attain a sinister purpose”, it said.
South Korea said Sunday that Seoul is certain that the dead man is leader Kim Jong-Un’s estranged half-brother Kim Jong-Nam, and that Malaysia’s investigation shows Pyongyang was behind the assassination.
The North’s statement — its first mention of the death of a North Korean, but one which did not at any point name the dead man — repeated Pyongyang’s demand for a joint investigation, stressing it was ready to dispatch a delegation of its jurists.
Investigators have put five North Koreans in the frame for the killing, which occured at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, and have said they are seeking three more for questioning.
The wanted men include a second secretary of the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur, as well as a North Korean airline employee.
© Agence France-Presse