The body of Kim Jong Nam, who was murdered in Malaysia last month, is still in Kuala Lumpur, health minister Health Minister Subramaniam Sathasivam said on Tuesday, amid reports the remains of the estranged half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will soon leave the country.
Conflicting reports in local media on Monday said either that Kim's body was to be cremated and flown to Pyongyang, or that the body was about to be sent to Macau where his family is believed to be.
"There have been a lot of rumours that the body was cremated but we would not do this without the responsible parties giving us directives or agreement," Health Minister S. Subramaniam told reporters.
In recent days, there has been some speculation that Kuala Lumpur had done a deal with Pyongyang to send the body to North Korea, in exchange for the return of nine Malaysians being prevented from leaving by Kim Jong-Un's regime.
Other reports had suggested the corpse would be transported to Macau, where Kim had been living with his family.
"The body is still in the morgue at Hospital Kuala Lumpur," Subramaniam said, adding it would remain there until the government had decided what to do.
Kuala Lumpur has been waiting for the next of kin to come forward and claim the body, but as this has not happened, they are now seeking other solutions.
Kim's wife and children, who were living in exile in the Chinese territory of Macau, staged a vanishing act after the murder. There are fears his 21-year-old son, Kim Han-Sol, could be targeted next and the family is thought to be in hiding.
Kim Jong Nam was murdered on Feb. 13, when Malaysian police say two women smeared super toxic VX nerve agent on his face at the budget terminal of Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
The killing has triggered a bitter row between Malaysia and North Korea, which have expelled each other's ambassadors and barred their citizens from leaving.
Investigators are seeking seven North Korean suspects, four of whom left Malaysia on the day of the murder.
The police chief has said he believes they fled to Pyongyang while the other three are hiding in North Korea's embassy in Kuala Lumpur.
Seoul has blamed Pyongyang for his death, but the North denies this, refusing to confirm the identity of the victim, who was carrying a passport bearing the name of Kim Chol when he was attacked.
Malaysia has officially confirmed his identity using DNA evidence.
