Malaysia: Suspects Were Trained, N. Korean Diplomat Sought

 

Malaysian police say the two women suspected of poisoning the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had been trained.

Police also are seeking two more suspects including a North Korean diplomat¹.

At least one of the women arrested in connection with the death of Kim Jong Nam has stated that she was tricked into attacking him at an airport in Kuala Lumpur.

The woman told Malaysian police she believed the attack was part of an act for a reality television program.

Malaysian police say women knew what they were doing

"We strongly believe it is a planned thing and that they have been trained to do that," Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar told reporters. "This is not just like shooting a movie."

Security camera video from the airport shows one of the women seizing Kim from behind and forcibly holding something over his face. He sought help from an airport service desk before he died.

Khalid said it was clear from the video that the woman is holding her hands away from herself as she walks away from Kim and toward a washroom. He said she knew very well that whatever she had held was poisonous and she needed to wash her hands.

However, experts in poison say it is unclear how the woman could not have been affected² if she were using a highly dangerous substance.

Two other people have already been arrested in connection with the attack. Malaysian officials say they are looking for additional suspects.

Police seek additional suspects

Khalid said police are now seeking North Korean diplomat Hyon Kwang Song who serves as the second secretary at the country's embassy in Kuala Lumpur. Another suspect, Kim Uk Il, is an employee of North Korea's state-owned airline company, Air Koryo.

A North Korean embassy statement rejected Khalid's claims. The statement questioned how the women would still be alive if they had a poisonous substance on their hands. It also called on Malaysia to release the two suspects and a North Korean citizen who are being detained.

Heart attack or wounds ruled out

Malaysian health officials have examined Kim’s remains³. Officials have said they are waiting on the results of laboratory tests before announcing his cause of death.

The director of general health at Malaysia’s health ministry⁴ said on Tuesday the exam showed no evidence of a heart attack or anything that suggested wounds to the body.

Earlier this week, North Korea's ambassador to Kuala Lumpur, Kang Chol, called for a joint⁵ investigation⁶ of the death. He told reporters that North Korea "cannot trust the investigation by the Malaysian police."

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak says his country had no reason "to paint the North Koreans in a bad light." He also expressed “absolute confidence” in the objectivity of the investigation.

The two women have been identified as Siti Aisyah, an Indonesian, and a woman with a Vietnamese passport in the name of Doan Thi Huong.

The father of Doan Thi Huong spoke⁷ with VOA's Vietnamese service about his daughter’s suspected involvement in the death of Kim Jong Nam.

"I couldn't know what she did," he told VOA. “We can't. She didn't even let us know where she goes. She did get home on January 25 and left four days later. She left and we know nothing since then.”

He described his daughter as “a good and hard-working girl. She's not a bad girl.”

Kim Jong Nam and his younger brother, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, are sons of former North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. However, they had different mothers. Many people thought the older brother would lead the country after Kim Jong Il left power.

However, Kim Jong Nam fell from favor with his father in 2001. That year, he attempted to enter Japan with a false passport, reportedly to visit Tokyo Disneyland.

Since that time, he has lived mainly in the Chinese territory of Macau.

South Korea's spy agency says Kim Jong Un approved a "standing⁸ order" for his half-brother's assassination⁹ after taking power.

Kim Jong Nam was reportedly considered a threat to his half-brother’s rule because of his criticism of the North Korean leadership.

Words in This Story

desk – n. a stand at which a person works

absolute – adj. complete; without restrictions¹⁰ or exceptions

confidence – n. trust; belief that one will act in a right or effective way

fell out of favor – expression to once be considered very good but no longer so

assassination – n. to kill someone, usually for political reasons

1 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

2 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

5 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

6 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

9 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

10 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制