DNA Test Needed to Confirm Kim Jong Nam’s Body Identification

A DNA test is necessary to confirm that the North Korean citizen murdered at the Kuala Lumpur airport is Kim Jong Nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Malaysian Health Minister Subramaniam Sathasivam said on Monday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The minister explained that the test was needed for a "final and conclusive identification" of the body, while any other identification procedures would leave a place for disputes, the media added.

"Our current challenge is confirming the identity of the body. In this case, because of the peculiarities, we need to conduct a DNA test," the minister said, as quoted by the Free Malaysia Today news portal.

According to the media, Subramaniam stressed that the tattoos on the body were not enough to confirm the identity of the victim, although Jong Nam was known to have tattoos.

The police have given Kim Jong Nam's family two weeks to provide a DNA sample, the news portal added.

On February 13, Kim Jong Nam, traveling by the name of Kim Chol, was killed at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport with a VX nerve agent, listed as a chemical weapon by the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and classified by the United Nations as a weapon of mass destruction.

However, the Malaysian police have not yet confirmed that the victim was Kim Jong Nam and has no compelling evidence that North Korea is connected to the murder.