Malaysian
police detained a second woman on Thursday suspected of involvement in the
apparent assassination of the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim
Jong Un.
Jong Un.
State-run
Bernama news agency reported that she has been remanded in custody for seven
days along with a woman who was caught at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on
Wednesday, two days after Kim Jong Nam was assaulted there with what was
believed to be a fast acting poison.
Police said
the latest arrest was made at 2 a.m on Thursday, and the woman was carrying an
Indonesian passport, unlike the first suspect who held Vietnamese travel
papers.
Lawmakers in
South Korea earlier cited their spy agency as saying it suspected two female
North Korean agents had murdered Kim Jong Nam. U.S. government sources also
said they believed North Korean assassins were responsible.
The woman
arrested in the early hours of Thursday was alone when she was apprehended, a
police statement said. Her Indonesian passport bore the name Siti Aishah, and
gave her date of birth as February 11, 1992, and place of birth as Serang,
Indonesia. The statement gave no other details.
A Malaysian
government source confirmed to Reuters that first suspect detained was the same
woman whose image was captured by close circuit television footage showing her
wearing a white shirt with the letters "LOL" on the front.
Her travel
documents were in the name of Doan Thi Huong, showed a birth date of May 1988
and birthplace of Nam Dinh, Vietnam.
"Investigation
continues. Actions against suspect/suspects will be taken in accordance with
the law," the police statement said.
NORTH KOREA'S
SILENCE
There was
still no mention of Kim Jong Nam's death in North Korean state media as of
Thursday morning. At midnight, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited the
Kumsusan Palace of the Sun to mark the birthday of his father, the late leader
Kim Jong Il, who died in 2011.
South Korea's
intelligence agency told lawmakers in Seoul that the young and unpredictable
North Korean leader had issued a "standing order" for his elder
half-brother's assassination, and that there had been a failed attempt in 2012.
North Korean
agents have killed rivals abroad before. And Kim Jong Nam had spoken out
publicly against his family's dynastic control of the isolated state.
Malaysian
police said Kim had been at the airport's budget terminal to catch a flight to
Macau on Monday when someone grabbed or held his face from behind, after which
he felt dizzy and sought help at an information desk.
"The
cause of death is strongly suspected to be a poisoning attack," said South
Korean lawmaker Kim Byung-kee, who was briefed by the spy agency.
Malaysian
authorities rebuffed North Korean officials efforts to stop an autopsy being
carried out on Kim Jong Nam, three Malaysian government sources familiar with
the stand-off told Reuters.
No decision
has been taken on whether the body will eventually be handed over to North
Korea, they added.
According to
South Korea's spy agency, Kim Jong Nam had been living with his second wife,
under Beijing's protection, in the Chinese territory of Macau, South Korean
lawmakers said. One of them said Kim Jong Nam also had a wife and son in
Beijing.
In Beijing, a
foreign ministry spokesman said on Wednesday that China was aware of reports
and closely following developments.
*REUTERS*
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