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Kim Jong-un's Half-Brother Reportedly Killed in Malaysia

takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

Kim Jong-un's estranged half-brother has reportedly been killed [bbc.com]:

The half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been killed in Malaysia, South Korean and Malaysian sources say. Kim Jong-nam, 45, is said to have been targeted at the airport in Kuala Lumpur, the capital. A source close to the Malaysian PM's office told the BBC that Mr Kim was killed in the city, saying his body was now undergoing an autopsy.

Kim Jong-nam was the eldest son of former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.

Also at Bloomberg [bloomberg.com], NYT [nytimes.com], Reuters [reuters.com], and DW [dw.com].

Eldest Son of Former North Korean Dictator Assassinated

-- OriginalOwner_ [tinyurl.com] writes:

from the eliminating-any-possible-competition-and-dissidents dept.

In a story filed at 23:22 GMT 2017-02-14, China-based SINA reports [sina.com]

[Kim Jong-nam,] the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been killed in Malaysia, a South Korean government source told Reuters on Tuesday.

[...]South Korea's TV Chosun, a cable television network, said that Kim was poisoned at Kuala Lumpur airport by two women believed to be North Korean operatives, who were at large, citing multiple South Korean government sources.

However, Selangor Police chief Abdul Samah Mat was reported to have said that a woman had approached Kim Jong-nam at the airport departure lounge and covered the victim's head with a cloth which contained an unidentified liquid.

"Jong-nam's eyes were stinging after the incident ... He was pronounced dead en route to the hospital", said Abdul Samah, according to Berita Harian newspaper.

[...]Kim Jong-nam was believed to be close to his uncle, Jang Song-thaek, who was North Korea's second most powerful man before being executed on Kim Jong-un's orders in 2013.

[...]Kim Jong-nam, the older half-brother of the North Korean leader, was known to spend a significant amount of time outside the country and had spoken out publicly against his family's dynastic control of the isolated state.

[...]He was known to travel to Hong Kong, Macao and the Chinese mainland.He said several times over the years that he had no interest in leading his country.

[...]In 2001, Kim Jong-nam was caught at an airport in Japan traveling on a fake passport, saying he had wanted to visit Tokyo Disneyland.

This attempt to show his desire to patronize that representation of excess and Western values seems to be the reason that he, the eldest son of the dynastic ruler and traditional heir to power, was passed over when his father died.

Numerous North Koreans of influence who were suspected of less than total loyalty to the regime have been killed, apparently at the order his brother, the dictator. It appears that this latest death was simply tying up a loose end.

Earlier reports of poisoned needles or sprayed poison appear to lack credibility.

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