Kim Jong-un engineered the assassination of his half-brother to be so “gruesome” that it would “horrify the rest of the world” and intimidate his adversaries, the Daily Mail cited the claim in a new report on Monday.
On Feb 13, Kim Jong-nam was killed allegedly by two women who smeared him with what turned out to be VX nerve agent at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
South Korean intelligence analysts now say that the assassination was meticulously orchestrated by the North Korean government over a period of five years and was “part of (Kim’s) master plan,’ according to GQ Magazine.
“From the moment Jong-nam left Macau, the North Koreans tailed him,” Nam Sung-wook, a Korea University professor investigating the assassination, told GQ.
“They had a group on his airplane. As soon as he arrived at the airport in Kuala Lumpur, another group followed him. They kept that surveillance up while he slept. Even as Jong-nam entered the terminal, he was shadowed.”
Initially, it was thought that the assassination was a display of sloppiness by the North Koreans.
Analysts noted that the two women who allegedly smeared the poison on Kim Jong-nam were clearly visible on surveillance footage. They also did not cover their faces in the moments leading up to the assassination and afterward.
Nam, a former member of South Korea’s spy service, says that contrary to those sentiments, Pyongyang wanted the assassination to be viewed in public.
“Pyongyang wanted to send a worldwide message by murdering Kim Jong-nam in this gruesome, public way.
“Pyongyang wanted to horrify the rest of the world by releasing a chemical weapon at an airport.
“Jong-un wants to reign a long time and negotiate as a superpower.
“The only way to do that is to keep the world in fear of his weapons. He has a grand design, and this is part of it,” Nam said.
Related reports:
Jul 31, Jong-nam Case: Without “James”, Defending Siti Aisyah a Tall Order
Jul 3, Jong-nam’s Son Did Not Want Body Handed over to Pyongyang
May 30, Kim Jong-nam Murder Case Goes to High Court
May 26, Kim Jong-nam’s Case Just Got More Intriguing
Mar 24, Wanted Man Happily Plays Snooker Evading Arrest