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Malaysian authorities used fingerprint data of Kim Jong Nam that they received from Japan to identify the body of the assassinated half-brother of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, according to a report.
The data was taken from Jong Nam in 2001 when the Japanese government detained him in Tokyo for trying to use a fake passport to enter the country, Malay Mail Online reported, citing Japanese news agency Kyodo News.
Japan also had offered data on Jong Nam’s physical characteristics, including mugshots, to help Malaysian police identify the victim’s body, the International Business Times reported.
Jong Nam had told Japanese officials he wanted to visit the Tokyo Disneyland theme park.
On Friday, Malaysian police formally identified Jong Nam as the victim of a nerve agent attack at Kuala Lumpur’s airport on Feb. 13 — but did not release details on how the identity was determined to ensure “the security of witnesses.”
Malaysian police earlier did not identify the victim as Jong Nam but had instead referred to a North Korean passport he was carrying when he died. Authorities had said DNA evidence was needed for conclusive proof of identity.
Jong Nam was carrying a passport with the name of Kim Chol when he was believed to have been smeared on the face with the highly toxic VX nerve agent by two women.
Indonesian national Siti Aisyah and Vietnamese resident Doan Thi Huongwere were charged with his murder. They said they were conned into thinking they were taking part in a harmless prank.
Malaysian police named a few North Korean nationals, including an embassy official at Kuala Lumpur, as suspects in the slaying.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian health minister said Monday that Jong Nam’s family has “two to three weeks” to claim his body, which has been kept at the Hospital Kuala Lumpur mortuary, The Star reported.
Subramaniam Sathasivam said that if the body is not claimed by then, the government will decide on what to do next.
“We know that he (Jong Nam) has a wife and children. Now that the body has been positively identified, we hope they will respond and come forward to claim the body,” he said.
“In the absence of that, we will have to address it as a government, through the Prime Minister’s Department, Home Ministry, Foreign Ministry and Health Ministry, and collectively come up with a decision on the way forward,” he told reporters.
It has widely been speculated that Pyongyang may have ordered the assassination of Jong Nam, who was waiting to board a flight to Macau, where he had been living in exile.
South Korean officials believe Kim Jong Un orchestrated the hit against his estranged half-brother, who allegedly was seen as a threat to Jong Un’s leadership in North Korea.
North Korea has shot down the allegations and has accused Malaysia of manipulating the probe.
Relations between the two countries have become increasingly strained since the killing — leading to the expulsions of each other’s ambassadors.
Jong Nam’s son, Kim Han Sol, 21, last week appeared in a video to say he’s gone into hiding with his mother and sister.