KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) – Malaysian police on Friday released the only North Korean it had detained in the killing of the half brother of North Korea’s leader, as it condemned the use of a banned nerve agent in the attack and vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Ri Jong Chol, who had been detained since February 17, four days after Kim Jong Nam’s death, was handed over to immigration officials for deportation.
Police never said what they had thought his role had been in the attack, but national police chief Khalid Abu Bakar confirmed Friday that Ri was released due to a lack of evidence against him.
Malaysian Attorney General Mohamad Apandi Ali has said that Ri would be deported because he did not have any valid travel documents.
Two women – one Indonesian, one Vietnamese – have been charged with murdering Kim at an airport terminal February 13.
They were caught on grainy surveillance video smearing what Malaysian authorities say was VX nerve agent on his face and eyes, though both reportedly say they were duped into thinking they were playing a harmless prank.
Police are searching for seven North Korean suspects, including four believed to have left Malaysia the day Kim, the estranged half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, was killed. One of the suspects believed to still be in Malaysia is an official at the North Korean Embassy.
A statement from Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry ramped up the pressure on Pyongyang on Friday, saying it was “greatly concerned” with the use of the toxic chemical and condemning the use of such a chemical weapon under any circumstances.
“Its use at a public place could have endangered the general public,” the foreign ministry said.
Malaysia has not directly accused North Korea of being behind the killing, but the statement came hours after a North Korean envoy rejected a Malaysian autopsy finding that VX nerve agent killed Kim, saying the man probably died of a heart attack because he suffered from heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure.
Ri Tong Il, a former North Korean deputy ambassador to the United Nations, also said that if VX had been used, others besides Kim would have been killed or sickened.
