KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: A North Korean man will be released from custody because of lack of evidence connecting him to the fatal nerve agent attack on Kim Jong Nam, the estranged half brother of North Korea’s ruler, Malaysian officials said Thursday.
Ri Jong Chol, 45, was arrested on Feb. 17, four days after the attack at Kuala Lumpur’s bustling airport. Malaysia officials never said why he had been arrested.
On Thursday, Malaysian Attorney General Mohamad Apandi Ali said Ri will be released and deported because he does not have valid travel documents.
Also Thursday, Malaysia said it was scrapping visa-free travel for North Koreans entering the country, the latest fallout from an attack many believe was orchestrated by Pyongyang.
The attack was caught on grainy security camera footage that showed two women smearing something on Kim’s face as he waited for a flight in Kuala Lumpur on Feb. 13. Malaysian officials say the substance was VX nerve agent, a banned chemical weapon.
Kim was dead within an hour as the fast-acting poison coursed through his body, authorities say. No bystanders reported falling ill.
The poisoning has unleashed a serious diplomatic battle between Malaysia and North Korea. While it is not one of Pyongyang’s key diplomatic partners, Malaysia has been one of the few places in the world where North Koreans could travel without a visa. As a result, for years, it’s been a quiet destination for Northerners looking for jobs, schools and business deals.
That could all begin to change in the wake of Kim’s death. On Thursday, the Bernama news agency said North Koreans will have to apply for visas.
The two female suspects caught in the security footage were charged with murder in a Malaysian court Wednesday. Both say they were duped into thinking they were taking part in a harmless prank.
“I understand but I am not guilty,” Vietnamese suspect Doan Thi Huong told the court in English after the murder charge was read.
The other suspect, Indonesian Siti Aisyah, nodded as her translator told her, “You are accused of murdering a North Korean man at the departure hall” of Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
The women did not enter pleas because the magistrate court where they appeared has no jurisdiction over a murder case. Lead prosecutor Iskander Ahmad told the court he will ask for the case to be transferred to a higher court and for the women to be tried together.
Each faces a mandatory death sentence if convicted. Both women were wearing bulletproof vests as they were escorted from the court to Kajang Prison.
In the surveillance video, Huong was seen clearly in a T-shirt with “LOL” emblazoned across the front. Both women were originally from modest farming villages and had moved to their countries’ capitals seeking a better life.
Also Wednesday, the court approved a gag order to prevent police and potential witnesses from making public statements about the case.
North Korea is widely speculated to be behind the killing, particularly after Malaysia said that VX had killed Kim. Experts say the oily poison was almost certainly produced in a sophisticated state weapons laboratory.
North Korea’s official news agency called that finding the “height of absurdity” on Wednesday, saying the two women could not have used such a deadly toxin without killing or sickening themselves and anyone around them.
North Korea opposed Malaysian officials even conducting an autopsy on Kim, while Malaysia has resisted giving up the body without getting DNA samples and confirmation from next of kin.
Kim is believed to have two sons and a daughter with two women living in Beijing and Macau.
Authorities are seeking seven other North Korean suspects, four of whom fled the country the day of Kim’s death and are believed to be back in North Korea. Others sought include the second secretary of North Korea’s Embassy and an employee of North Korea’s state-owned airline, Air Koryo.
Kim Jong Nam was estranged from his half brother, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. He reportedly fell out of favor with their father, the late Kim Jong Il, in 2001, when he was caught trying to enter Japan on a false passport to visit Tokyo Disneyland.
Isolated North Korea has a long history of ordering killings of people it views as threats to its regime. Kim Jong Nam was not known to be seeking political power, but his position as eldest son of the family that has ruled North Korea since it was founded could have made him appear to be a danger.
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Malaysia to release, deport N. Korean in nerve agent probe
Malaysia to release, deport N. Korean in nerve agent probe
Costa Rica’s Grynspan pledges reform in bid for UN chief job
GENEVA: Rebeca Grynspan is upbeat about her chances of becoming the next head of the United Nations, which she insists must become more agile in tackling the world’s crises.
The Costa Rican former vice president said she wanted to rebuild global trust in the United Nations if she becomes its next secretary-general.
“We are very optimistic. I think that I am more than a viable candidate,” Grynspan said on Friday, her last working day before stepping aside as head of the UN trade and development agency UNCTAD to focus on her campaign.
The second term of current UN chief Antonio Guterres expires at the end of the year.
“My profile is right for this moment. I know the UN enough to reform it and enough to defend it,” she told the UN correspondents’ association ACANU.
“I have a lot of experience in my political life, taking decisions under a lot of stress and in complex situations. I have been in the highest positions in the UN.”
It is Latin America’s turn next for the top UN job and two other candidates are running: former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet, and Rafael Grossi, the Argentinian head of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Founded in 1945, the UN has never had a woman secretary-general.
Grynspan, an economist, is not looking to be chosen on that basis.
“I don’t need any favors to be elected for the secretary-general; I just need people not to discriminate me for being a woman,” the 70-year-old said.
“If the competition will be fair, with no biases, I will make it. I have the CV; I have the merits.”
- Rebuilding trust -
Last month, Guterres warned that the UN was facing financial collapse and could run out of cash by July, with member states neither paying in full nor or time.
“The UN has to change,” said Grynspan.
There are far greater capacities in civil society and the private sector than in 1945, “and we need to be able to harness that: we don’t have to do everything in the UN.”
As for peace and security, “prevention and mediation are essential. But they need agility and flexibility from the structures of the UN. And I don’t think we have that right now.”
US President Donald Trump has slashed funding to some UN agencies and has repeatedly questioned the UN’s relevance and attacked its priorities, setting up his own “Board of Peace.”
“The UN is unique because it’s the only legitimate, universal organization,” said Grynspan.
“We need to rebuild trust with the member states. We need to regain the belief that the UN is useful to solve problems,” she said, vowing to bring her personal qualities to the task.
“I am able to reach to people not only with logic, but also with inspiration, optimism and hope,” she said.
“We need more of that too, because we need to connect again much more with people. We will need to conquer the hearts and minds again.”
- Leadership style -
The UNCTAD chief said her leadership style revolved around being “direct, honest, and evidence-based... There have to be reasons, not only emotions.”
Grynspan recounted that her parents, who were from Poland, “barely survived” World War II. Her maternal grandparents were killed in the Holocaust.
Her parents went “with nothing” to Costa Rica, a country that “allowed them to have a good life.”
“Costa Rica has taught me a lot. It’s a country that I not only love dearly, but I admire,” she said.
“I am not an impetuous person. I think things through. I have the serenity not to lose it under tension and under pressure. I consult. I hear. And I am brave. I take risks.”
rjm/ceg
The Costa Rican former vice president said she wanted to rebuild global trust in the United Nations if she becomes its next secretary-general.
“We are very optimistic. I think that I am more than a viable candidate,” Grynspan said on Friday, her last working day before stepping aside as head of the UN trade and development agency UNCTAD to focus on her campaign.
The second term of current UN chief Antonio Guterres expires at the end of the year.
“My profile is right for this moment. I know the UN enough to reform it and enough to defend it,” she told the UN correspondents’ association ACANU.
“I have a lot of experience in my political life, taking decisions under a lot of stress and in complex situations. I have been in the highest positions in the UN.”
It is Latin America’s turn next for the top UN job and two other candidates are running: former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet, and Rafael Grossi, the Argentinian head of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Founded in 1945, the UN has never had a woman secretary-general.
Grynspan, an economist, is not looking to be chosen on that basis.
“I don’t need any favors to be elected for the secretary-general; I just need people not to discriminate me for being a woman,” the 70-year-old said.
“If the competition will be fair, with no biases, I will make it. I have the CV; I have the merits.”
- Rebuilding trust -
Last month, Guterres warned that the UN was facing financial collapse and could run out of cash by July, with member states neither paying in full nor or time.
“The UN has to change,” said Grynspan.
There are far greater capacities in civil society and the private sector than in 1945, “and we need to be able to harness that: we don’t have to do everything in the UN.”
As for peace and security, “prevention and mediation are essential. But they need agility and flexibility from the structures of the UN. And I don’t think we have that right now.”
US President Donald Trump has slashed funding to some UN agencies and has repeatedly questioned the UN’s relevance and attacked its priorities, setting up his own “Board of Peace.”
“The UN is unique because it’s the only legitimate, universal organization,” said Grynspan.
“We need to rebuild trust with the member states. We need to regain the belief that the UN is useful to solve problems,” she said, vowing to bring her personal qualities to the task.
“I am able to reach to people not only with logic, but also with inspiration, optimism and hope,” she said.
“We need more of that too, because we need to connect again much more with people. We will need to conquer the hearts and minds again.”
- Leadership style -
The UNCTAD chief said her leadership style revolved around being “direct, honest, and evidence-based... There have to be reasons, not only emotions.”
Grynspan recounted that her parents, who were from Poland, “barely survived” World War II. Her maternal grandparents were killed in the Holocaust.
Her parents went “with nothing” to Costa Rica, a country that “allowed them to have a good life.”
“Costa Rica has taught me a lot. It’s a country that I not only love dearly, but I admire,” she said.
“I am not an impetuous person. I think things through. I have the serenity not to lose it under tension and under pressure. I consult. I hear. And I am brave. I take risks.”
rjm/ceg
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