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Malaysian police have formally identified Kim Jong-nam as the victim of a fatal nerve agent attack at Kuala Lumpur's airport.
Key points:
- Malaysian police formally identify Kim Jong-nam
- His body will be sent to the Health Ministry
- Nine Malaysians still banned from leaving N. Korea
- Malaysia - N. Korea soccer qualifier postponed
Kim Jong-nam was the estranged half brother of North Korean ruler, Kim Jong-un.
The announcement is a formality — Malaysian Cabinet officials confirmed the victim was Mr Kim soon after the killing on February 13.
However, North Korea does not acknowledge the victim is Kim Jong-nam and has demanded custody of the body, but Malaysia has not handed it over.
Mr Kim carried a passport under the name of Kim Chol.
National police chief Khalid Abu Bakar refused to say how police identified Mr Kim, saying the "safety and security of witnesses" are at stake.
He said police would hand over the body to Malaysia's Ministry of Health, since no family member has come forward to claim it.
Kim Jong-nam was killed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on February 13.
Police say he was assaulted by two women who smeared his face with VX, a deadly chemical classified by the United Nations as a weapon of mass destruction.
Authorities have identified eight North Koreans in connection with the case and say three are still in Kuala Lumpur, hiding at the North Korean embassy.
Malaysia is one of the few countries outside China that has for decades maintained ties with the isolated North Korea.
However, as relations soured in the wake of the murder, Malaysia recalled its envoy from Pyongyang and expelled the North Korean ambassador.
Earlier this week, North Korea barred Malaysians from leaving the country, sparking tit-for-tat action by Malaysia.
PM Najib warns North Korea
On Thursday, two Malaysian UN employees were allowed to leave the country and Prime Minister Najib Razak said Pyongyang had guaranteed the safety of the nine Malaysians left behind.
Mr Najib wrote a blog post on Friday, calling for unity as he tried to bring home those banned from leaving North Korea.
"I want to call on all Malaysians, including the leaders of the government and the opposition, to unite in giving us full support towards all efforts that are ongoing to resolve this problem," he wrote.
He also warned Pyongyang not to abuse Malaysia's "hospitality".
"Malaysia always ensures good relations with all countries.
"However, this does not mean any one of them can abuse our good treatment that Malaysia has given all this while and break the laws of our country, or do anything they like without respecting Malaysia as a sovereign nation."
Meanwhile, the Asian Football Confederation has postponed the Asia Cup qualifier between North Korean and Malaysia.
The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) had made a request not to play the March 28 fixture in Pyongyang, under pressure from the Malaysian Government following the political fallout from Kim Jong-nam's murder.
The AFC said it is looking for a new date to play the match, but it is unclear if a neutral venue could be used.
AP/ Reuters
Topics: murder-and-manslaughter, foreign-affairs, international-law, malaysia, korea-democratic-people-s-republic-of, asia