Malaysian Police Release North Korean Suspect in Kim Jong Nam’s Killing

Malaysian police have released North Korean national Ri Jong Chol, arrested in relation with the killing of Kim Jong Nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, because of a lack of evidence, media report.

TOKYO (Sputnik) – Ri Jong Chol is now expected to be deported from Malaysia for visa violations, the Nikkei Asian Review said on Friday.

On February 13, a man traveling under the name of Kim Chol and believed to be Kim Jong Nam, was killed at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport as he was about to board a flight to Macau.

According to Malaysian police, Kim was killed by "VX nerve agent," listed as a chemical weapon by the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and classified as a weapon of mass destruction by the United Nations.

Following the murder, Malaysian police detained a number of people, including North Korean national Ri, while several other suspects managed to flee the country. Ri Jong Chol was arrested on February 17.

On Monday, the South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS) said that four of the eight suspects involved in the murder worked for North Korea’s Ministry of State Security and Foreign Ministry.

On Wednesday, a Malaysian court charged two women, Duon Thi Huong, a 29-year-old Vietnamese national, and Siti Aisyah, a 25-year-old Indonesian national, with the murder.

Inspector-General of Royal Malaysian Police (RMP) Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar confirmed on Thursday citing experts that two women swiped Kim Chol’s face with their hands laced with VX nerve agent, after which he died.