Kim Jong Nam family's arrival will be undisclosed and protected: Malaysian police

Sumisha Naidu

Kim Jong Nam arrives at Beijing airport in Beijing, China, in this photo taken by Kyodo February 11, 2007. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via REUTERS/Files

KUALA LUMPUR: Amid rumors that Kim Jong Nam's son is in Malaysia to claim his body, Selangor police chief Abd Samah Mat told Channel NewsAsia any family member coming here would be protected by police.

He said so far no family member has claimed the body but if they were here to do so their presence in Malaysia would not be disclosed until necessary for their protection.

"We will provide the necessary protection," he said when contacted.

Abd Samah said if a family member was here, they would be brought to Hospital Kuala Lumpur to first physically identify the body and then provide DNA samples.
If the police were satisfied he or she were next-of-kin, the body would be released to them and the North Korean embassy informed.

Rumors have been rampant that the son of Kim Jong Nam is in Malaysia after police gave family members two weeks to come forward to claim the body of a North Korean man who was travelling in Malaysia under the passport name "Kim Chol".

North Korea had wanted the body released to its embassy immediately without a postmortem. However, Malaysian police rejected this request, saying the death was sudden and occurred under mysterious circumstances.

Malaysian armed guards stood watch at the hospital holding the body of Kim Jong Nam, the assassinated half-brother of North Korea's leader, amid reports his son had come to Kuala Lumpur to claim the remains.

A convoy of four unmarked vehicles entered the hospital compound in the early hours of the morning, with around 30 Malaysian special forces securing the area before all of them left by mid-morning.

- CNA/AFP/mn