Kim Jong-nam, the older half brother of the North Korean leader, was known to spend a significant amount of his time outside the country and had spoken out publicly against his family's dynastic control.
He was confirmed dead by Malaysian police, and was believed to be in his mid- 40s.
"Kim Jong Nam was in exile, he had been a bit of critic, unwisely, indeed, as it turns out, some years ago of his brother Kim Jong Un and indeed of the whole idea of hereditary succession. But we hadn't heard from him for some time and I assumed he was lying low and that he wasn't really a threat to anybody, but it would seem, and of course we are running ahead of anything proven here, it would seem perhaps his half-brother thought differently. "
