Interpol has issued a "red notice", the closest instrument to an international arrest warrant, on four North Korean suspects wanted in connection with the murder of Kim Jong Nam, Malaysia's police chief says.
Kim Jong Nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, was killed on February 13, when Malaysian police say two women smeared super toxic VX nerve agent on his face at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
Police requested Interpol's help last month to apprehend North Korean suspects who they believed had fled Malaysia shortly after the murder. They have identified seven North Korean wanted in connection with the murder, including four who are believed to have made their way back to Pyongyang.
Meanwhile a North Korean diplomat based in China said the recent "incident" that occurred in Malaysia was a political scheme by the US and South Korea that would only benefit enemy countries.
"The recent incident that occurred in Malaysia was clearly a political scheme by the US and South Korea aimed at hurting the DPRK's reputation and overthrowing the DPRK regime," diplomat Pak Myong Ho told a news conference, using the country's formal name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
"The only parties that will benefit from this incident are the enemy countries."
A senior Malaysian police official said Thursday that the family of Kim Jong Nam has given consent to Malaysia to decide what to do with his body.
Deputy national police Chief Noor Rashid Ibrahim said Kim's family will let the government decide what to do with his body.
"I was made to understand that they are leaving it to our government to deal with it (body)... yes, they have given their consent," Noor Rashid said.
He said any decision will be subject to negotiations between the two countries amid the diplomatic standoff over the killing.
Noor Rashid declined to comment whether the two women had been given different components that would form a binary version of VX, but described it as a "professional job."
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