Kim body to be sent to N Korea: Malaysia PM
The body of Kim Jong-Nam will be returned to North Korea and nine Malaysians in Pyongyang allowed to leave under a deal struck between the two countries, Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Razak said yesterday.
North Korean citizens in Kuala Lumpur will also be allowed to return home, Najib said in a statement, which was confirmed by North Korean state media.
"... following the completion of the autopsy on the deceased and receipt of a letter from his family requesting the remains be returned to North Korea, the coroner has approved the release of the body," said Najib.
The half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un was poisoned with the lethal nerve agent VX in a brazen Cold War-style assassination on February 13 in Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
The killing triggered a bitter row between Malaysia and North Korea, which expelled each other's ambassadors and barred their citizens from leaving.
Najib said the nine Malaysians prevented from leaving North Korea "have now been allowed to return to Malaysia".
"They took off from Pyongyang today at 7:45 pm (1145 GMT) Malaysian time, and will land in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow around 5:00 am," he said in the statement that referred to Kim Jong-Nam as "the deceased" rather than by name.
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