KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (Reuters) –Still photographs released by Malaysian police on Sunday (February 19) show men they suspect of being involved in the murder of Kim Jong Nam, the half-brother of North Korea’s leader.
In one photograph, Malaysian police identify three North Korean men, Ri Jae Nam, Hong Song Hac and Ri Ji Hyun.
Footage from airport cameras purportedly showing the assault on Kim Jong Nam emerged on Monday (February 20) as a diplomatic row between Malaysia and North Korea escalated over the handling of a probe into the killing of Kim Jong Nam.
Malaysia recalled its envoy from Pyongyang and summoned North Korea’s ambassador in Kuala Lumpur to explain his accusations that Malaysian authorities were colluding “with external forces” over the investigation into the slaying of leader Kim Jung Un’s estranged half-brother.
Malaysian police are hunting four North Koreans who fled 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.
South Korean and U.S. officials have said the killing was probably carried out by North Korean agents.