Ri Jong Chol was arrested on Friday night in a raid at a condominium in Jalan Kuchai Lama, Kuala Lumpur. He is one of four male suspects wanted over the murder of Jong Nam, who is the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
According to a police source, Ri, who is from Pyongyang, graduated in the science and medicine field from a university in North Korea in 2000.
He was carrying out research work later in Kolkata, India, until 2011, and thereafter returned to the North Korean capital.
He came to work in Malaysia a few years ago after receiving an offer from an IT company based in Malaysia, according to the daily.
“It is still too early to conclude that he is behind the liquid poison believed to have been used to kill Jong Nam, thus investigations are still underway.
“He is also being quizzed on the whereabouts of three other accomplices, who are still at large,” a source was quoted as saying.
Yesterday, Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar said Ri Jong Chol was arrested at 9.50pm on Friday.
Ri was identified by his I-Kad, an identification launched three years ago to make sure registered foreign workers have an identification document to help the authorities check their personal information, including the company they are working for. It is issued once a foreign worker renews their work permit.
Police have also obtained a seven-day remand order on the suspect, who is being detained at the Sepang district police headquarters (IPD).
Meanwhile, representatives from the North Korean embassy reportedly visited the Sepang IPD at about 4pm yesterday and spent about an hour there.
According to The Star, the embassy officials were believed to have visited the IPD to gain access to Ri.
On Wednesday, police had arrested a woman who held a Vietnamese passport, bearing the name Doan Thi Huong, after she went back to the same airport to board a flight to Vietnam.
Then, on early Thursday morning, police raided a room at a hotel in Ampang, Kuala Lumpur, to arrest the second woman. She was carrying an Indonesian passport which stated her name as Siti Aisyah, and that she was from the town of Serang, in a province which neighbours Jakarta.
Both the women were identified based on CCTV footage which was taken from the klia2 terminal on the day of the incident.
The third suspect in police custody is a Malaysian in his twenties and is said to be Siti Aisyah’s boyfriend.
With the latest arrest, three more men are still on the loose.
Kim Jong Nam, who is the eldest son of former North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, arrived in Malaysia on Feb 6, and was scheduled to board a 9am flight to Macau on Monday.
While at klia2, he was approached by a woman who sprayed him with a liquid, while another woman held a cloth over his face.
He asked for help at the klia2 service counter but died on the way to the hospital.