Zahid, who is also home minister, said the man, who had been travelling under the name of Kim Chol, was indeed Kim Jong Nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
“We will look into the possibility that he carries two different identities. Probably one is an undercover document, and the other an authentic passport,” he said at a press conference at Putra Perdana in Puchong today.
The deputy prime minister said Jong Nam’s body would be released to North Korea in accordance with international protocol, after the proper legal procedure is done following the release of the post mortem report.
“We will facilitate the request by any foreign government, and although there are some procedures to be followed, our policy is that we have to honour our bilateral relationship with other countries.”
National news agency Bernama also quoted Zahid as saying that relations between Malaysia and North Korea would not be affected by Jong Nam’s death.
“It’s just speculation that DPRK is behind Kim Jong Nam’s death. His death on Malaysian soil won’t affect existing ties between our two countries,” Bernama quoted him as saying.
Zahid also gave his assurance that Malaysia’s airport security was at the highest level. He added that the death of Jong Nam had been an isolated case, Bernama said.
Jong Nam, who is the eldest son of former North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, arrived in Malaysia on Feb 6, and was at the klia2 on Monday morning to take a flight to Macau. Once inside the airport, he was approached by a woman who sprayed him with a liquid, while another woman held a cloth over his face.
He asked for medical assistance at the klia2 service counter but died on the way to the hospital.
Police have arrested two female suspects following the positive identification based on CCTV footage taken in the airport, and today received a remand order to detain them for seven days to facilitate investigations into the killing.