PUTRAJAYA: Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S Subramaniam said yesterday he expects the issue of claiming the body of murdered North Korean Kim Jong-nam to be resolved in two to three weeks.
He said the government was seeking the best solution to the issue.
“The Health Ministry will discuss the next move with the Prime Minister’s Department, Home Ministry and Foreign Ministry if the body is not claimed by the family of Jong-nam,” he said.
Speaking to the media after the presentation of Research Innovation Awards of the Pharmaceutical Association of Malaysia, Dr Subramaniam confirmed that the body of Jong-nam was still at the National Institute of Forensic Medicine at Kuala Lumpur Hospital.
Asked whether Malaysia would hand over the body if Pyongyang wants to claim it, Dr Subramaniam said:
“Now, with the positive identification of the body, we are told that Jong-nam has a wife or wives or children. We hope those people will respond and come forward to claim the body.”
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar had said that the police had handed over Jong-nam’s body to the Health Ministry as no next-of-kin had come forward to claim it. — Bernama