Officials at the morgue where Kim Jong-nam’s body is being held fear a real-life invasion of the body snatchers.
Someone tried to break into the Malaysian hospital where North Korean despot Kim Jong-un’s assassinated half-brother is on ice — and now cops are taking Fort Knox-like security measures to hang onto the body.
“We knew there were attempts by someone to break into the hospital mortuary. We had to take precautions. We will not allow anyone to tamper with the mortuary,” Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar told the Malay Mail Wednesday.
Heavily armed special forces were seen guarding the perimeter of Kuala Lumpur General Hospital, according to the newspaper.
Bakar said police had identified multiple would-be body thieves, but added there was “no need” to reveal their identities.
Malaysian officials tamped down speculation that the North Koreans were behind the attempted break-in, NBC reported, and it was unclear if the target was Jong-nam’s body.
Police detained a South Korean cameraman wandering around a restricted area at the hospital’s forensics department. The fotog was released after a colleague confirmed his identity, NBC said.
Jong-nam’s body has been kept at the mortuary while medical examiners work to determine an official cause of death.
So far, two exams have failed to reveal what killed him, although police believe he was felled by some type of poison.
Jong-nam, 45, was attacked by two women in the crowded departure terminal at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Feb. 13.
Police said Tuesday that two highly trained female killers had smeared their bare hands with deadly toxins and wiped them on Jong-nam’s face.
The globetrotting playboy suffered a seizure before dying en route to a hospital.
The killers fled in a taxicab, but were later captured along with several other suspects.
Meanwhile, North Korean diplomats insisted Wednesday that the killers were “innocent” and should be released immediately, according to Al Jazeera.
The attachés released a statement, asking “how is it possible that these female suspects could still be alive” if they had poison on their hands?
In other developments, a North Korean diplomat was being sought for questioning in the case, along with a North Korean airline worker.
Bakar identified the pair as Hyon Kwang Song, 44, the second secretary at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur, and Kim Uk Il, 37, an employee of the North Korean-based Air Koryo.
“They’ve been called in for assistance. We hope the embassy will cooperate with us and allow us to interview them quickly or else we will compel them to come to us,” Bakar told reporters.
“We can’t confirm that they are hiding in the embassy,” he told Reuters, but said he believed they were still in Malaysia.