I figured that the real North Korean agents would have fled the country immediately after Kim Jong-nam was killed; they are all probably safely back in North Korea by now:
Noor Rashid speaking at a press conference at Bukit Aman on Sunday Read more at http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/02/19/jong-nam-murder-police-pc/#Ug6FBPgBF0GVvwCX.99
Malaysia’s police are looking for four more North Korean suspects who they say left the country the same day the North Korean leader’s brother died after being attacked at the Kuala Lumpur airport.
Deputy national police chief Noor Rashid Ibrahim identified all four at a news conference on Sunday. He also identified a fifth person of interest and showed photographs of two more North Koreans who were not identified by name but are also wanted in connection with Kim Jong Nam’s apparent assassination on Monday. [Stars & Stripes]
Here are the names of the four suspects, so if anyone happens to run in them please let Police Chief Ibrahim know:
Malaysian police officers escort Ri Jong-chol, second from left in the top photo, one of the North Korean suspects involved in the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s older half-brother Kim Jong-nam in Kuala Lumpur, Saturday. Other North Korean suspects are, from left in the bottom row, are Ri Jae-nam, Ri Ji-hyon, O Jong-gil and Hong Song-hac. / Yonhap
Deputy Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Noor Rashid Ibrahim said the suspects, all North Koreans, left the country on Monday Feb 13, the day of Jong-nam’s murder.
“We can confirm that the four left the country on the same day of the attack.
“We are cooperating with Interpol and other relevant bodies in the region,” he told a press conference in Bukit Aman on Sunday.
The press conference is the first that the police have conducted since Jong-nam was assassinated.
The four wanted suspects are:
1. Rhi Ji Hyon, 33, arrived in Malaysia Feb 4, 2017
Of interest is that according to The Star article the North Korean man that they did arrest has a background in chemistry which means they must think he is the guy that put the poison together. It seems like if he did why didn’t he leave the country with the other four agents?
@GIKorea: Pure speculation on my part … but since the North Korean they caught was living there with his wife and daughter, maybe he wasn’t in such a hurry to get out like the others. Further speculation … since the Malaysian authorities have been able to ID all the suspects and tie this to North Korea – it might lead to, among other things, stronger sanctions enforcement by the Chinese. If that happens – KJU will want the heads of everyone involved. So it’s probably not a good idea to run back to North Korea right now (or maybe … ever) if you were one of the Norks involved in this operation.
guitard, they can kill Kim Jong Nam only with the explicit permission and knowledge of Kim Jong Un. Kim Jong Un has been trying to kill his brother for the last 5 years. Those killers will get a people’s hero treatment and reward for the rest of their lives.
Maybe they will … maybe they won’t. We’ll probably never know. What I’m saying is that KJU would much rather have preferred that they did a clean job that didn’t point back to North Korea. Last year KJU executed a senior official for dozing off during a meeting. He also executed the guy who conducted the monetary conversion a few years back (because it backfired). Basically, KJU is prone to kill people when they do something he doesn’t like or when the results they produce aren’t to his liking (even if they did the job the way he told them to do it). So if KJU directed them to kill Kim Jong Nam and don’t leave a single trace that points back to North Korea – those four guys on the run are better off not going back to North Korea.
@Guitard, according to news reports the four North Korean suspects are safely back in Pyongyang:
Four North Korean suspects in the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s half brother Kim Jong-nam appear to be back in Pyongyang, according to Malaysian media reports Monday.
Citing unnamed sources, reports indicate that the four men flew from Kuala Lumpur International Airport shortly after the Feb. 13 killing for the Indonesian capital of Jakarta. They then reportedly flew to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and to Vladivostok, Russia, before landing in the North Korean capital.
Sources told The Star, a Malaysian newspaper, “They may have taken the long route to shake off the authorities.” [Joong Ang Ilbo]
@GIKorea – I saw that on the YTN. It’s always possible that KJU didn’t care how messy the job was. But not too long after the assassination, China announced it is cutting off coal exports from North Korea until the end of the year. China did that last year also, but they announced it around the end of the year, so it didn’t really have much impact. If China sticks with the ban this year, it will have a huge impact because revenue from those coal exports are one of North Korea’s biggest money earners.
And speaking of China … I wouldn’t be surprised if the four operatives specifically avoided going through China on their return to North Korea specifically to avoid any hassles.
@GIKorea: Pure speculation on my part … but since the North Korean they caught was living there with his wife and daughter, maybe he wasn’t in such a hurry to get out like the others. Further speculation … since the Malaysian authorities have been able to ID all the suspects and tie this to North Korea – it might lead to, among other things, stronger sanctions enforcement by the Chinese. If that happens – KJU will want the heads of everyone involved. So it’s probably not a good idea to run back to North Korea right now (or maybe … ever) if you were one of the Norks involved in this operation.
guitard, they can kill Kim Jong Nam only with the explicit permission and knowledge of Kim Jong Un. Kim Jong Un has been trying to kill his brother for the last 5 years. Those killers will get a people’s hero treatment and reward for the rest of their lives.
Maybe they will … maybe they won’t. We’ll probably never know. What I’m saying is that KJU would much rather have preferred that they did a clean job that didn’t point back to North Korea. Last year KJU executed a senior official for dozing off during a meeting. He also executed the guy who conducted the monetary conversion a few years back (because it backfired). Basically, KJU is prone to kill people when they do something he doesn’t like or when the results they produce aren’t to his liking (even if they did the job the way he told them to do it). So if KJU directed them to kill Kim Jong Nam and don’t leave a single trace that points back to North Korea – those four guys on the run are better off not going back to North Korea.
@Guitard, according to news reports the four North Korean suspects are safely back in Pyongyang:
@GIKorea – I saw that on the YTN. It’s always possible that KJU didn’t care how messy the job was. But not too long after the assassination, China announced it is cutting off coal exports from North Korea until the end of the year. China did that last year also, but they announced it around the end of the year, so it didn’t really have much impact. If China sticks with the ban this year, it will have a huge impact because revenue from those coal exports are one of North Korea’s biggest money earners.
And speaking of China … I wouldn’t be surprised if the four operatives specifically avoided going through China on their return to North Korea specifically to avoid any hassles.