KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysia will return the body of the half-brother of North Korea’s leader at Pyongyang’s request, although there are “procedures to be followed”, the deputy prime minister told reporters on Thursday.
Ahmad Zahid Hamidi confirmed Pyongyang had made the request when questioned by journalists following a meeting with regional business leaders, footage from the event showed.
“We will facilitate the request by any foreign government although there are procedures to be followed. Our policy is that we have to honor our bilateral relations with any foreign country,” he said.
He also confirmed the man who was killed at Kuala Lumpur airport on Monday was Kim Jong-Nam, the estranged sibling of Kim Jong-Un.
Malaysian police have referred only to a Korean male in their official statements on the matter.
“He carries two different identities, probably this is an undercover document and this is an authentic passport,” Zahid added.
Kim, 45, was believed to have been in Malaysia on a passport bearing the name Kim Chol, a known alias, according to South Korean media.
South Korean intelligence chiefs say he was poisoned by agents from the North as he walked through Kuala Lumpur International Airport on his way to board a flight for Macau.
© Agence France-Presse
