Malaysia used a DNA sample from one of Kim Jong-Nam's children to confirm the identity of the assassinated half-brother of North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un, the deputy prime minister said Wednesday. The 45-year-old was poisoned with the deadly nerve agent VX in a brazen Cold War-style assassination on February 13 in Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
His killing triggered a fierce diplomatic row between Malaysia and North Korea, which have expelled each other's ambassadors and refused to let their citizens leave.
Investigators "confirmed the identity of the body as Kim Jong-Nam based on the sample obtained from his child", said Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, without elaborating further.
Seoul has blamed Pyongyang for Kim's death, but the North has rejected those claims and slammed Malaysia's refusal to hand over his body without a DNA sample from next of kin.
Ahmad Zahid told reporters the two countries began official talks on Monday to resolve the crisis and bring nine Malaysians, who are trapped in Pyongyang, home.
Pyongyang has never confirmed the identity of the victim, who was carrying a passport bearing the name of Kim Chol when he was attacked. Malaysia officially confirmed his identity on Friday, nearly a month after the murder, but refused to say whether authorities had obtained a DNA sample from next of kin.
Kim's wife and children, who were living in exile in the Chinese territory of Macau, staged a vanishing act after the murder. There are fears his 21-year-old son, Kim Han-Sol, could be targeted next.
Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed on Wednesday told AFP authorities did not want to reveal how they managed to obtain the DNA sample, citing safety concerns. "It is from one of the children," Nur Jazlan said.
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