Kim Jong Nam
4 N. Koreans sought in death of Kim Jong Nam
02:10 - Source: CNN

Story highlights

North Korean suspects did not hold diplomatic passports

Indonesian suspect says she thought she was on a prank show

Kuala Lumpur CNN  — 

Malaysian police are looking for four more suspects, all of them North Korean, in connection with the mysterious death of Kim Jong Nam, the estranged half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Authorities said they are treating the incident as a murder case.

Ibrahim said the suspects do not not hold diplomatic passports.

Kim Jong Nam was on his way to catch a flight Monday morning to see his family in Macau when he died. Police say he was sprayed with poison as he waited to board the flight at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Authorities have arrested four suspects in Kim’s death.

Ibrahim said the four North Korean suspects now sought had left Malaysia the same day of the attack. Police are also looking for three other people to assist in the investigation. Interpol is assisting in the search.

The suspects arrested

North Korean Ri Jong Chol was arrested Friday at an apartment in Selangor, Malaysia, police said, though they did not give any further details.

A woman carrying a Vietnamese ID was arrested, along with a 25-year-old Indonesian woman, Siti Aishah.

Aishah thought she was participating in a television prank show when she squirted liquid in the victim’s face, Indonesian police said.

Kim Jong Nam
Who killed Kim Jong Nam?
02:42 - Source: CNN

One of two women was seen on airport surveillance video wearing a shirt with the letters “LOL” – laughing out loud – emblazoned across the front.

Aishah said she was unaware it was an assassination attempt by alleged foreign agents, Indonesian police chief Tito Karnavian told reporters.

Karnavian said she told police she was given a few dollars to carry out the act. “She was used but she didn’t know what it was for.” he said.

Indonesia’s request to obtain consular access to Aishah has not been granted, the Indonesian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Malaysian Code of Criminal Procedure stipulates that suspects cannot be visited by anyone during the investigation process.

Aishah and the other suspects were part of a crime reenactment at the airport Friday, according to the statement.

Aishah’s boyfriend, a 26-year-old Malaysian man, was also arrested in Selangor.

How it happened

The events leading up to his death are sketchy, but Selangor State Criminal Investigations Department Chief Fadzil Ahmat told Reuters that Kim “felt like someone grabbed or held his face from behind.”

In a picture taken on June 4, 2010 Kim Jong-Nam, the eldest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il, waves after an interview with South Korean media representatives in Macau.  Kim Jong-Nam was in the limelight with Seoul's JoongAng Ilbo newspaper carrying a snatched interview with him at a hotel in Macau. Jong-Nam declined knowledge of the warship incident, it reported, and said his father is "doing well".  North Korean Leader  Leader Kim Jong-Il on June 7 attended a rare second annual session of parliament at which Kim's brother-in-law was promoted and the country's prime minister was sacked, state media reported.  REPUBLIC OF KOREA OUT  AFP PHOTO / JOONGANG SUNDAY VIA JOONGANG ILBO (Photo credit should read JoongAng Sunday/AFP/Getty Images)
S. Korea: Kim Jong Un's half-brother murdered
02:00 - Source: CNN

Kim felt dizzy and immediately went to an airport customer assistance counter to seek medical help. They were concerned enough to take him to a clinic on the premises.

An ambulance was called to take Kim to the hospital, but he died on the way.

Kim had lived in Macau, a Chinese territory and popular gambling destination, since his departure from North Korea years ago.

Malaysian police have declined to release his body to North Korea without DNA from next of kin.

CNN’s Saima Mohsin and Kocha Olarn reported from Kuala Lumpur. Angela Dewan reported from London. Andreena Narayan contributed to this report.