[An image captured from a YouTube clp]
[Cheollima Civil Defense YouTube channel]
A young man uploaded a video clip on YouTube Wednesday, claiming he is the son of Kim Jong-nam, the assassinated half-brother of North Korea's leader.
In his 40-second footage, the man showed his passport to reveal his identity, saying he stays with his mother and sister. "My name is Kim Han-sol from North Korea, part of the Kim family," he said in English.
"My father has been killed a few days ago," the man said. He did not mention the name of his father but expressed hope that the situation would get better soon. South Korean media quoted intelligence sources and defectors as saying the man is presumed to be Kim Han-sol, 22, who has studied in France.
The fate and whereabouts of Kim Jong-nam's family have been the focus of international media attention since he was killed in Malaysia on February 13. Malaysia said VX, a chemical weapon classified as a weapon of mass destruction, was used in an operation led by North Korean agents.
Malaysian police have rejected North Korea's request to turn over the body of Kim Jong-nam, saying his next of kin should come forward to identify and claim it.
The video was uploaded on the YouTube channel of the Cheollima Civil Defense, which said it has received "an emergency request" by Kim Jong-nam's family for protection.
"The three family members were met quickly and relocated to safety," the group said, expressing gratitude to the Netherlands, China, the United States and an unidentified country for providing emergency assistance in protecting Kim's family.
Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
