Three hypotheses about the sudden death of Kim Jong-un's brother

Experts have put forward many theories about the reason for the sudden death of the North Korean leader's brother at a Malaysian airport, ranging from assassination to heart disease.

Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, suddenly passed away at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia on February 13, giving rise to many theories about the cause of his death.

Assassinated

Malaysian media quoted senior police official Fadzil Ahmat as saying that Kim Jong-nam had health problems while preparing to board a 10am flight from Kuala Lumpur to Macau using a passport using a fake name. The 45-year-old man suddenly went to the reception desk and said that someone had rubbed an unknown substance on his face, making him feel dizzy. Airport staff quickly rushed him to a nearby hospital, but Kim Jong-nam died on the way.

While Malaysian police recorded this as a case of "sudden death" and are conducting an autopsy to investigate the cause, many South Korean newspapers said that Kim Jong-nam was assassinated by two female North Korean spies at the airport using secret weapons such as poisoned needles or spraying poison gas in the face.

Kim Jong-nam is the eldest son of the late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, and was once appointed to a high position in the North Korean Ministry of Public Security and many other senior positions. However, after falling out of favor, Kim Jong-nam no longer held leadership positions and spent most of his life abroad.

Professor Koh Yu-hwan at Dongguk University in Seoul, South Korea, said that Kim Jong-nam had a very close relationship with Jang Song-thaek, the second most powerful man in North Korea before being executed by Kim Jong-un in 2013.

Despite living abroad for many years, Kim Jong-nam was sometimes rumored to be a possible replacement for his younger brother Kim Jong-un, the third-generation leader of North Korea, in keeping with the tradition of the eldest son inheriting power in the country.

"This could be a brutal fratricidal war," said Dr Leonid Petrov of the Australian National University.

However, Michael Madden, a scholar at the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University, points out thatKim Jong-nam has been living abroad for a long time and no longer has any significant influence among the North Korean elite to compete with or threaten Kim Jong-un's power. He also has no control over the layers of control in the North Korean government and seems to have no interest in politics.

According to this expert, Kim Jong-nam had close ties with many high-ranking Chinese officials and lived in "exile" in Macau under some form of Chinese protection. An order to kill Kim Jong-nam, if it existed and if it came from Pyongyang, would certainly anger Beijing.

In recent months, Pyongyang has been working to strengthen relations with Beijing, its only major ally, so it has no geopolitical benefit to risk angering China with such a reckless move, Madden said.

Mr. Kim Jong-un and generals of the North Korean army. Photo: KCNA

Aidan Foster-Carter, a British expert on North Korea, said it was possible that some lower-ranking officials in the North Korean government or security forces assassinated Kim Jong-nam to curry favor with Kim Jong-un without his orders.

"Some agency likely did this without the leader's orders, in an effort to impress him, especially those who have had trouble with Kim Jong-un and are looking for redemption. About a month ago, Kim Jong-un fired the head of North Korea's secret police and ordered them to be investigated," Carter said.

Murdered by gangsters

Dr. PetrovIt is not ruled out that Kim Jong-nam was murdered due to business conflicts with mafia organizations in Southeast Asia.

According to the BBC, after falling out of favor in 2001, Kim Jong-nam left North Korea and often lived in family apartments in Macau or Beijing, China. He is said to be in charge of some of the Kim family's multi-billion dollar financial operations abroad.

He also regularly appeared at casinos across Asia, famous for his lavish lifestyle, earning him the nickname "party boy".Dr Petrov suggests that Kim Jong-nam may have been involved in some underground trafficking activities during this process.

"It could be an organized crime group or a mafia in the region or in Macau. Kim Jong-nam often traveled to China and Russia, so there would be many suspects and motives for the crime," Petrov said.

Heart attack

Despite much speculation about a dark plot behind Kim Jong-nam's death, many experts point out that it could simply be the result of a massive heart attack.

Many members of the Kim family have a history of heart disease, which is likely to be genetic. Both Kim Jong-un's grandfather and father died of heart attacks, while his aunt has also been treated for heart disease in Russia.

Mr. Kim Jong-nam. Photo: AFP

Kim Jong-un himself has also gained weight rapidly since taking power, causing North Korean doctors to express concern for his health. According to the Korean Times, in 2012, Kim reopened the Mansoomoogang Institute, an agency that researches the best health care medicines for North Korean leaders, with more than 400 of the best medical experts.

According to medical experts, people who have had a serious heart attack often experience chest pain and dizziness, which is quite similar to the symptoms that Kim Jong-nam described to airport staff. Kim Jong-nam is also obese, putting him at high risk of heart disease./.

According to VNE