This latest development into the killing of Jong Nam came to light after the video clip, uploaded on YouTube, was sent to the regional broadcaster by a group that called themselves Cheollima Civil Defense.
The 40-second clip, entitled KHS Video, was uploaded on YouTube yesterday.
“My name is Kim Han Sol, from North Korea, part of the Kim family,” the man says in the video, in a clear voice with a slight American accent.
BREAKING: Group called "Cheollima Civil Defense" claims they're protecting #KimJongNam's family. Sent me this video allegedly of Kim Han Sol pic.twitter.com/px7OHteuWx— Sumisha Naidu (@sumishanaidu) March 7, 2017
“My father has been killed a few days ago. I’m currently with my mother and my sister. We are very grateful to …,” he says, before the audio is silenced temporarily. He signs off by saying: “We hope this gets better soon.”
He also shows his passport to the camera, but this is blacked out in the original video sent to CNA.
CNA reported that Do Hee Youn, an activist with the Citizens Coalition for Human Rights of Abductees and North Korean Refugees confirmed that the man in the video was Han Sol.
The Cheollima Civil Defense claims to be protecting the Jong Nam family.
“Cheollima Civil Defense responded last month to an emergency request by survivors of the family of Kim Jong Nam for extraction and protection. The three family members were met quickly and relocated to safety,” the group said in a statement posted on its website.
“We have in the past addressed other urgent needs for protection. This will be the first and last statement on this particular matter, and the present whereabouts of this family will not be addressed.”
The group also said that four countries had helped in facilitating the protection given to Jong Nam’s family.
“We publicly express our gratitude for the emergency humanitarian assistance afforded to us in protecting this family by the governments of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the People’s Republic of China, the United States of America, and a fourth government to remain unnamed.”
Meanwhile, Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar told CNA that he had never heard of the Cheollima Civil Defense and had his own ways of contacting the family of Jong Nam.
However, he declined to say if there had been any contact established with the family.
Jong Nam, who is the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, was at klia2 to catch a 10.30am flight to Macau on Feb 13 when he was attacked by two women. They wiped a rapid-acting chemical poison on his face that was later found to be the deadly VX nerve agent.
He sought help at the customer service counter and was treated at the airport clinic but died on the way to Putrajaya Hospital.
The two women, one a Vietnamese and the other an Indonesian, have been charged with murder, while the police seek two North Korean men believed to be holed up in the North Korean Embassy in Kuala Lumpur.