North Korea: Kim Jong-un accused of assassinating brother Kim Jong-Nam

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il passed away 10 years ago, with his son Kim Jong-un succeeding him in leading the isolated nation. According to excerpts from the late dictator’s will, Kim Jong-un was accused of the alleged assassination of his older brother Kim Jong-Nam.

Express reports excerpts for the dictator’s last will obtained by two think tanks based in South Korea included requests surrounding Kim Jong-il’s children from his two marriages and how they are to be protected. The late dictator requested that his eldest son, Kim Jong-Nam, be allowed to live a “comfortable life abroad.” However, Kim Jong-Nam was ultimately assassinated in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2017.

Kim Jong-Nam was reportedly approached by two women at the airport in Kuala Lumpur and smothered with what was revealed to be a fatal nerve agent. The two women who were arrested said that they were recruited by two men who claimed to be television producers. Several publications, however, alleged that the men were secret agents for North Korea, recruiting the women to assassinate Kim Jong-Nam under orders of Kim Jong-un.

Kim Jong-un and Kim Jong-Nam reportedly did not get along, as Kim Jong-Nam was against his half-brother’s regime. Kim Jong-Nam was also believed to be an informant for the CIA before he was assassinated and spent most of his life overseas.

“The reason to do it publicly is to leave a calling card to show the world that Kim Jong-un is not afraid to use a weapon of mass destruction at a crowded international airport,” said MIT professor Vipin Narang.

Meanwhile, Pyongyang has placed a ban on laughing, drinking, and engaging in leisure activities to mark the mourning period for the late North Korean leader. The ban would be in effect for 11 days to mark the anniversary of Kim Jong-il’s death in 2011. A resident of Sinuiju was quoted by Radio Free Asia’s Korean Service regarding the ban that would be in place to mark the mourning period.

The resident also said those who break the rule would be arrested. The ban is to the extent that those who celebrate their birthdays during the mourning period are not allowed to celebrate, according to the resident.