No deadline for next-of-kin to claim Kim’s body (Updated)

PUTRAJAYA: No deadline has been set for the next-of-kin to claim the body of Kim Jong-Nam said Datuk Seri S. Subramaniam.
The Health Minister said the body of Jong-Nam, who was the estranged brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, could only be claimed by the deceased's relatives, despite similar requests from the North Korean government.
"We would like to get the final conclusion through the full identification (of the body) and after that, if possible, to hand over body to the next-of-kin in a normal process," he said.

"That is what we hope to do and I hope that whoever can assist us in that process will do so," he said in a press conference at the Health Ministry's building here.
So far, no relatives of Jong-Nam had come forward to claim the body after his alleged assassination on Feb 13.
Jong-Nam, who was travelling with a passport bearing the identity of Kim Chol, died in Malaysia after allegedly being assaulted in a poison attack by two women at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2.
Asked why it took so long for the authorities to identify the body, Subramaniam said only a DNA sample from Jong-Nam's closest relatives could serve as a confirmation to the identity.
"The whole world says he was Jong-Nam. For us to say this is not Kim Chol but Jong Nam, we need the evidence.
"That evidence can only be received through DNA profiling of the relatives. That is the reason (why it takes time)," he said.
Subramaniam also said there were no indication of poisoning on the two suspects who were believed to have applied the highly toxic VX nerve agent on Jong-Nam's face.
"Test results had so far did not indicate that they have shown any sign of poisoning, despite one of them reportedly having vomited.
"Why was there no indication? We do not know. What we see was only through CCTV recording of the incident. Only the police had interrogated the suspects," he said.
"We do not know how it (VX) was handled, why there was no penetration or how the suspects were protected," he added.