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MALAYSIAN ARMED GUARDS stood watch at the hospital holding the body of Kim Jong-Nam, the assassinated half-brother of North Korea’s leader, amid reports his son had come to Kuala Lumpur to claim the remains.
A convoy of four unmarked vehicles entered the hospital compound in the early hours of the morning, with around 30 Malaysian special forces securing the area before all of them left by mid-morning.
A white police van was seen leaving at 4:00 am local-time this morning.
The body of Kim Jong-Nam — assassinated last Monday at Kuala Lumpur airport — has been at the centre of a diplomatic row between Pyongyang and Malaysia, after North Korea insisted it be returned and objected to an autopsy being performed.
But Malaysia rejected the request, saying the remains must stay in the morgue until a family member comes forward to identify them with a DNA sample.
Last night Jong-Nam’s son Kim Han-Sol was due to arrive in Kuala Lumpur from Macau, local media and intelligence sources said, but AFP was not immediately able to verify his presence.
Pyongyang’s envoy to Kuala Lumpur dismissed the request for a DNA sample as “preposterous” and said the embassy had the right to reclaim the body of a diplomatic passport holder.
Ambassador Kang Chol also savaged the police investigation into the killing, saying it was politically motivated and that Malaysia had conspired with South Korea from the beginning to frame the North.
Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said the “deeply insulting” accusations were based on “delusions, lies and half-truths”.
Malaysia had earlier recalled its ambassador to Pyongyang and summoned Kang for a dressing down at the foreign ministry over the ongoing spat.
The drama erupted last Monday as Kim Jong-Nam waited at the budget terminal of Kuala Lumpur’s main airport for a flight to Macau.
He was approached by two women, one of whom grabbed him from behind and sprayed his face with an apparently poisonous liquid, according to police and leaked CCTV footage.
He had a seizure and died before arriving at hospital, with news emerging the next day of his identity.
Malaysia’s probe has put five North Koreans in the frame for the killing, four of whom fled Malaysia the day it happened and are believed to have returned to Pyongyang.
Officers have also arrested a 28-year-old Vietnamese woman, as well as a 25-year-old Indonesian and her Malaysian boyfriend.
Seoul has said the attack was orchestrated by Pyongyang, citing a “standing order” from the leader to kill his elder sibling and a failed assassination bid in 2012 after he criticised the regime.
First born Jong-Nam was once thought to be the natural successor to his father, the then-North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il.
But after Jong-Il’s death in 2011 the succession went instead to Kim Jong-Un, a child of his third marriage.
Reports of purges and executions have emerged from the current regime as the young leader tries to strengthen his grip on power in the face of international pressure over his nuclear and missile programmes.
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If you can judge a nation by how they take care of their young and their old then we fail miserably. We are consistently failing the most vulnerable in our society. If you vote FFG then you are voting for this.
@Declan Doherty: plain and simple
How dare anyone complain about how we treat our disabled children, our young trying to buy a house and build a future, or those forced to wait hours…days even for medical attention. Don’t they know that the State is off abroad and at home endeavouring to care for all the rest of the world and make a strident name for itself at the glorious fabled table of tbe EU & UN? Let those that put the same government in power, and those that chose not, and their respective children know that when it comes time for their suffering…. That they should suffer violently and gladly knowing their suffering is for the greater wealth of the rest of the world.
@Keth Warsaw: Do I need to add I’m being sarcastic?
My son is 22. It has been like that well before he came into the “system”. When he was accessed all those years ago, these services were recommended, Physio , speech and language , occupational therepy etc. so obviously as a parent you look for these services as you think your child desperately needs them pronto, but they’re not there and you stress even more. I could count on my hand the actual hours my son had with these services, my hand, so as time.went by and my son started walking, delayed, and talking, delayed and limited , I chilled about it. When he had medical problems I took him to the gp and got referrals. From the waiting time to the treated time, these were long drawn out processes, ok for eye squint but not ok for seizures. Its a long story but what I want to say is, was speech and language, physical therapy and occupational therey really that instrumental in my child’s development? How much ‘better” would he be today if he got those services as advised? So I think , very controversially I know, that these services are over subscribed. There I said it. (Open for discussion, willing to be proved wrong, accept not every case is the same) but for the medical side of things, people really need a kick up the butt. I have to add that in the case of an emergency, brilliant care.
@Marie Broomfield: No. I have to say I agree. My best friend’s son is autistic. He’s an adult now but his mom spent years fighting the system trying to get him all the therapies. She was a nervous wreck from it. In the end, like yourself, she became philosophical and just stopped fighting the fight. They’re all much better off now. The services should be there, but they just aren’t. I feel so sorry for moms and dads who are fighting and fighting for something that doesn’t really exist. I hope you and your son are having your best life.
Shocking failing my son has an underlying condition I have been on this train for 11 years. We have received some support through primary care team which was good. We got transferred to children disability services as it was discovered my child has a rare chromosomal disorder 5 years ago. This test was done privately for chromosomal disorder. Since moving to the children’s disability services we have received 2 physio appointments between the age of 5 and 11. My sons condition requues speech and language, physio , psychology support and Ot. If he lived in the UK that is the standard of care. People with my sons condition lively perfectly functional lives in employment if given the proper care between age of 5 to 12.
Paul reid? Rince and repeat ect ect nuff said.
Now it’s a crisis you say. It was a crisis 2 decades ago when I started advocating for my son and others. It was a crisis even before that when I was told him taking up his place in special school meant someone else would have no placement. As an adult, we had no support during covid at all. 4 hours a week now. I have had to beg, plead, beg, demean myself, sacrifice my career, my financial security, my relationships, my mental and physical health to pick up the pieces after diagnosis. Which was also a battle. Family carers often receive no financial support for working 24/7. €224 for those lucky enough to get any payment. I’m lucky to have a supportive family. Everything about disability support is a state failure.
There is one psychologist in the 4 Meath networks. Everything spread too thin. No money for respite and other practical supports. Totally broken system and hard to see how it will improve. It’s only gotten worse and worse in the 15 years I’ve worked in childrens services. Good people working on the ground but caseloads are unrealistic
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