A North Korea official dismissed a Malaysian autopsy finding that Kim Jong Nam was killed by VX nerve agent, claiming Thursday that he likely died of a heart attack instead.
Ri Tong Il, the former North Korean deputy ambassador to the United Nations, told reporters that Malaysia’s VX finding made no sense because the substance is so toxic that the women would have surely been killed or sickened themselves in the process.
“This is a strong indication that the cause of death is a heart attack,” said Ri, who said Jong Nam had a history of heart problems, diabetes and high blood pressure, and has been hospitalized for his medical maladies in the past.
Malaysian officials said Jong Nam — the 45-year-old estranged half-brother of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un — was killed when two women allegedly wiped VX on his face in Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Feb. 13.
“If it is true that it was used, then the samples should be sent to the office of OPCW,” Ri insisted.
“In case it is proved by the two separate international laboratories, with the same conclusion, then they should come to identify who is the one that made it. Who is the one that brought it into Malaysia,” he added.
Meanwhile, Malaysian authorities were making plans to deport a North Korean being held in Jong Nam’s slaying after prosecutors failed to build a case against him.
Ri Jong Chol was arrested in Kuala Lumpur on Feb. 17 and has been in police custody ever since. It was unclear what, if any, role he played in the plot to assassinate Jong Nam. He is expected to be deported Friday.
The two women, Doan Thi Huong and Siti Aisyah, were charged with Jong Nam’s murder Wednesday in a Malaysian court.
Both women were caught on video surveillance footage carrying out the deadly assignment in Kuala Lumpur Airport.
Malaysian officials have also canceled visa-free entry for all North Koreans, as diplomatic ties between the two nations have gone into the toilet following Jong Nam’s murder.
American and South Korean intelligence officials believe that the murder was an assassination organized by North Korean agents — and possibly by that country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, who had a fractured relationship with his half-brother.
Police were seeking to question seven other people in connection with the case, including a senior official in the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur.
With Post wires