KUALA LUMPUR: The only North Korean arrested over the dramatic airport assassination of Kim Jong-Nam is to be freed, Malaysia said Thursday, as it announced the abrupt cancellation of a visa-waiver programme with Pyongyang.
The moves came the day after two young women appeared in court charged with murdering the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un with a banned nerve agent.
Attorney general Mohamed Apandi Ali said 47-year-old Ri Jong-Chol would be released on Friday.
“He is a free man. His remand expires and there is insufficient evidence to charge him,” Apandi said.
“He has no proper [travel] documents so we will deport him.”
Seven other North Koreans are wanted in connection with the killing, including a diplomat and an airline employee who are believed to be in Malaysia.
Four others are thought to have fled to Pyongyang on the day of the murder.
