Malaysian police arrest female suspect related to death of DPRK man

The Malaysian police said Wednesday that a female suspect was arrested in the investigation related to the death of a man from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

National police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said in a statement that the suspect was arrested at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport's second terminal, where the man looked for help after feeling unwell on Monday. He died on the way to hospital.

The female suspect, who was carrying a Vietnamese passport, was identified from the surveillance video footage at the airport, Khalid said, adding that the suspect was alone at the time of arrest.

The Malaysian police said earlier that the 46-year-old man who died Monday was holding a DPRK passport under the name Kim Chol.

But South Korean media reported that the man was Kim Jong Nam, the elder half-brother of DPRK's top leader Kim Jong Un.

His body was taken to a hospital in Kuala Lumpur Wednesday for postmortem to ascertain the cause of his death.

Update:

Malaysian deputy PM confirms dead DPRK man as Kim Jong Nam: state media

Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the man from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) who died in Malaysia was Kim Jong Nam, state news agency Bernama reported on Thursday.

Malaysian police earlier identified the man as Kim Chol, according to his passport. Bernama quoted Zahid as saying that Kim Chol and Kim Jong Nam were the same person.

Malaysia arrests second suspect in DPRK man's death

Malaysian police said Thursday a second female suspect, who bears an Indonesian passport, has been arrested early in the morning in connection with the death of a man from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Malaysian police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said in a statement that the second suspect was also identified from a surveillance camera footage at the airport and was alone at the time of the arrest.

Based on the passport, the suspect is named "Siti Aishah" and was born on Feb. 11, 1992 in Serang of Indonesia.

China closely follows reported death of Kim Jong Nam, says FM

China is closely following developments concerning the reported death of Kim Jong Nam, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said Wednesday.

Geng said China was aware of coverage of the issue. "As far as we know, the incident happened in Malaysia. The Malaysian side is conducting an investigation," he told a routine press briefing.