North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un faced a loss Feb. 13 after his half-brother’s murder.
Police found that two Asian women are murdered his brother, Kim Jong Nam, at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. South Korea’s Intelligence Committee Chairman Lee Cheol-woo, said the two women fled the scene by taxi. They believe the murderers poisoned Nam with a needle or a spray. Doctors are performing a thorough autopsy at Kuala Lumpur Hospital.
Despite the relation of the brothers, South Korean officials believe Kim Jong Un is responsible for the murder. Nam openly disagreed with Un’s politics and refused to live in North Korea.
Nam was the oldest son of Kim Jong Il. After attempting to flee North Korea with a fake passport in 2001, he lost the relationship with his father. Additionally, he later severed the ties with Un, saying in 2012 that Un “won’t last long” because of his immaturity.
According to reports, Un maintained a “standing order” to kill his half-brother since he took over North Korea in 2011. Un made one attempt in 2012 but failed because China was protecting Nam.
Cheol-woo did not provide much comment on the idea that Un killed his brother. However, he said it appears that the murder is part of a longstanding order.
“We should take this as an action that reflects Jong Un’s paranoia,” he said. “Normal citizens in the North aren’t aware of Jong Nam’s existence, and it is only elite there who knows about him. The elite should have been shocked.”
Although Cheol-woo’s shared minimal speculation of the incident, some South Korean lawmakers do not share the same sentiment. Kim Young-woo, the leader of the national defense committee, said that Un most likely killed his brother because he considered him a threat.
“You don’t remove someone who has been wandering around away from home for a long time,” he said.
