DPRK suspect in Kim murder accuses Malaysia of conspiracy

World
Europe

Ri Jong Chol, a suspect in the murder of the estranged half-brother of the DPRK leader Kim Jong Un, on Saturday said in Beijing that he was a victim of a conspiracy by Malaysian authorities attempting to damage the honor of the DPRK.

Ri accused Malaysia of using coercion to try to extract a confession from him, in comments made to reporters outside the DPRK embassy in Beijing on Saturday.

DPRK national Ri Jong Chol speaks to the media from behind the fence of the DPRK embassy compound in Beijing, China on March 4, 2017. /CFP Photo

He said he was not at the airport on the day of the killing, and knew nothing about the accusation that his car was used in the case.

Ri was in Beijing en route back to the DPRK after Malaysia deported him.

His arrival at the Beijing international airport early on Saturday was greeted by a swarm of reporters, and he was quickly whisked away from the chaotic scene.

Outside the DPRK embassy, Ri told reporters that he was presented with false evidence in Malaysia, and police showed him pictures of his family in detention.

“I realized that this is a conspiracy, plot, to try to damage the status and honor of the republic,” Ri said.

The 46-year-old chemist was detained in Malaysia during investigations over Kim Jong Nam’s death on February 13 while waiting for a Macao-bound flight at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Kim died after being assaulted by two women who Malaysian police believe smeared his face with VX, a chemical classified by the United Nations as a weapon of mass destruction.

(With inputs from Reuters)