Another North Korean possibly involved in Kim Jong-nam murder
Local sources say the man named Chang Nam-un is believed to have played a key role in the assassination plot
Another North Korean man may have been involved in last month’s murder of the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, in addition to seven others hunted by Malaysian police over their alleged links to the case, sources close to the matter said Saturday.
According to the sources and a local newspaper, the man’s name is Chang Nam-un and he is in his mid-30s. The local New Straits Times reported that he is believed to have played a key role in the plot to kill Kim Jong-nam, citing its analysis of security camera footage before and after the attack at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on February 13.
Kim Jong-nam died after he was attacked by two women – an Indonesian and a Vietnamese – as he waited to check in. The women, who smeared the highly toxic nerve agent VX on the his face, have since been charged with murder, while seven North Koreans, whose involvement is also suspected, have been at large.
Of the seven, four suspects, believed to have flown out of Malaysia the same day as the attack and now in Pyongyang, have been put on Interpol’s Red Notice list, known to be the closest instrument to an international arrest warrant.
The four are Hong Song-hac, 32, Ri Ji-hyon, 32, O Jong-gil, 54, and Ri Jae-nam, 56, according to Interpol’s website. The three others include Hyon Kwan-song, second secretary at the North Korean Embassy in Kuala Lumpur.
According to the New Straits Times, a frame-by-frame analysis of video footage captured by airport security cameras shows that Chang entered the frame as soon as Kim Jong-nam began making his way to the self check-in counter where he was eventually attacked.