[Yonhap News Photo]
The half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been killed in Malaysia in a suspected assassination plot carried out by two female agents probably from the communist country, SBS, a South Korean TV station, reported Tuesday.
Kim Jong-nam, 45, was assassinated on Monday at the Kuala Lumpur airport, SBS said, adding the scheme involved two unidentified women armed with poisoned needles.
Other TV stations, citing government sources, reported that the two women were on the run with Malaysian police believing North Korea was behind the attack. Jong-nam, the eldest son of North Korea's late leader Kim Jong-il, had lived in exile abroad since his brother took power in late 2011.
Yonhap News Agency said that agents of the Reconnaissance General Bureau, North Korea's spy agency, killed Jong-nam by taking advantage of a security loophole created between his bodyguards and Malaysian police at the airport.
A government source was quoted as saying that Malaysian police have informed Seoul of the assassination.
Jong-nam was once trained to succeed his father. Following a botched attempt to secretly enter Japan using a fake passport and visit Tokyo Disneyland in May 2001, he was thought to have fallen out of favor with his father.
There was no official comment or confirmation in Seoul on the death of Jong-nam who had lived under assassination threats since his younger paternal half-brother Kim Jong-un became an heir apparent in September 2010.
Jong-nam used to advocate reform in North Korea, criticizing the transfer of power from his father to Jong-un who has been accused of resorting to the reign of terror to consolidate his power.
There have been sporadic reports of purges and executions involving senior party, government and military officials in North Korea. The most notorious case was reported in December 2013, when the leader executed his influential uncle Jang Song-taek on charges including treason and corruption.
The leader's repressive dictatorship has led to the defection of some North Korean elites that Seoul says points to signs of cracks in the North's regime.
Following Jang's death, Jong-nam had lived mainly in Southeast Asian countries to avoid an assassination attempt. He had several children, including his eldest son Han-sol, 22, who is studying in France.
Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
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