Malaysian officials, he revealed, had gone to meet the son at a certain place to collect the DNA sample.
He declined to give details, according to a report in The Star.
Jong Nam had two sons and a daughter. Reports say Jong Nam’s wife and children, who were living in exile in the Chinese territory of Macau, have gone into hiding fearing one of the children could be the next target.
Zahid said police would decide what to do with the body based on consent documents signed by the next of kin. He said North Korea could not ask for the body to be sent back without the next of kin’s approval.
Meanwhile, The Star reported Deputy Inspector-General Noor Rashid Ibrahim as saying Jong Nam’s family had given permission to the government to manage his remains.
“As of now, custody of the body has been handed to the health ministry. Any further action will be the government’s prerogative,” he was quoted as saying.
So far, Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong and Indonesian Siti Aisyah have been charged with murdering Jong Nam. Police said the two women smeared a chemical, identified as VX nerve agent, on his face at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 on Feb 13.
Police believe several North Koreans were also involved in the murder and are looking for three of them. The trio are believed to be hiding in North Korea’s embassy here.
According to police, four other North Koreans believed to be involved in the murder have fled the country.
The murder has triggered a major diplomatic row between Malaysia and North Korea which have expelled each other’s ambassadors and refused to let their citizens leave. Negotiations are now taking place for the safe return of each other’s citizens.