KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) – A senior Malaysian police official said Thursday that the family of Kim Jong Nam, who was killed last month, has given consent to Malaysia to decide what to do with his body.
Officials say police confirmed Kim’s identity using the DNA of one of his children. Kim was holding a diplomatic passport by the name of Kim Chol when he was attacked Feb. 13 at Kuala Lumpur’s airport by two women who smeared the banned VX nerve agent on his face. He died within 20 minutes.
Deputy national police Chief Noor Rashid Ibrahim said Kim’s family will let the government decide what to do with his body.
“I was made to understand that they are leaving it to our government to deal with it (body)… yes, they have given their consent,” Noor Rashid said.
He said any decision will be subject to negotiations between the two countries amid a diplomatic standoff over the killing. Kim was the estranged half brother of North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, and relations between Malaysia and North Korea have deteriorated sharply since Kim’s death, with each expelling the other’s ambassador.