0:00:14 > 0:00:17Kuala Lumpur, capital of Malaysia...
0:00:18 > 0:00:22..scene of one of the most audacious assassinations in history.
0:00:22 > 0:00:25When you look at the story and the details around it,
0:00:25 > 0:00:28you realise, actually, you just can't make it up.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32The killers, two young women,
0:00:32 > 0:00:35who say they thought they were just part of a prank show.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38She was quite excited about the whole thing,
0:00:38 > 0:00:42because she actually believed that this could have been her new career.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48Controlled by a network of North Korean secret agents.
0:01:02 > 0:01:06The victim - the half-brother of the dictator of North Korea.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08He was cautious.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10He didn't want to take unnecessary risks.
0:01:10 > 0:01:12Would he be talking about moving to Europe
0:01:12 > 0:01:14if he wasn't slightly worried?
0:01:15 > 0:01:20I'm sure the CIA would have tried very hard to recruit him,
0:01:20 > 0:01:22and they may have recruited him.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28And behind the assassination, a global web of arms dealing
0:01:28 > 0:01:32and money-laundering, for North Korea's ruling family.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34There is Kim family economy.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37They are making foreign cash from these businesses.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43And a paranoid dictator, bent on nuclear confrontation.
0:01:45 > 0:01:50North Korea is at the last stage of perfecting its nuclear programme,
0:01:50 > 0:01:55so I think this crisis is heading toward a finale, if you will.
0:01:57 > 0:02:02Why was Kim Jong-nam murdered in Malaysia?
0:02:02 > 0:02:05People that say that this was a botch job
0:02:05 > 0:02:09are not thinking like North Korean intelligence operatives.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11They're not thinking like killers.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42I mean, basically, it's a huge terminal.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45Once you're inside, it's like a maze.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48There's so many types of people from all walks of life.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54It's nine o'clock in the morning, and an unremarkable-looking man
0:02:54 > 0:02:58is checking in for an Air Asia flight to the Chinese city of Macau.
0:03:02 > 0:03:04He went to one of those self check-in kiosks
0:03:04 > 0:03:05to get his boarding pass.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11That's when he was approached by the two ladies.
0:03:11 > 0:03:13They sort of flanked him from left and right.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21Two women appear to bump into him.
0:03:21 > 0:03:23One puts a cloth over his mouth.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29Then, the women walk calmly off, and no-one else seems to notice.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33The whole thing has taken less than five seconds.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37I think he immediately felt the effect,
0:03:37 > 0:03:40probably less than a minute after he was attacked.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44That's why, when you see the CCTV in front of the entrance
0:03:44 > 0:03:47where he first made contact with the policemen,
0:03:47 > 0:03:49he was rushing through something.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51But, since it happened so fast,
0:03:51 > 0:03:54they didn't know that this is a serious matter.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59But actually, the person is a normal person.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04Security staff lead the man to the airport clinic.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07By the time he was walking towards the clinic,
0:04:07 > 0:04:12he was already dragging his feet. He was sweating profusely.
0:04:12 > 0:04:14His coordination went haywire.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20He had a minor seizure, and then he defecated.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24He died in the ambulance.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27By 11.05, I think, he was pronounced dead.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32The dead man was travelling on a North Korean diplomatic passport,
0:04:32 > 0:04:34with the name Kim Chol.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40But, as the pictures went around the world,
0:04:40 > 0:04:42it soon became clear who he really was.
0:04:44 > 0:04:45My friend called me and said,
0:04:45 > 0:04:48"Aren't you friends with the son of Kim Jong-il?"
0:04:50 > 0:04:51And I said, "Yeah."
0:04:51 > 0:04:56He said, "Isn't it him that got killed in Malaysia?"
0:04:57 > 0:04:58And I said, "What?"
0:04:58 > 0:05:02And then I looked on the internet, and I could see the image.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05Actually, I got an SMS from a friend of mine.
0:05:07 > 0:05:08"Have you seen the news?" "No."
0:05:08 > 0:05:11And the first reaction I had - "Was it really him?"
0:05:11 > 0:05:13And then we saw the pictures. It was very sad.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28The dead man was Kim Jong-nam,
0:05:28 > 0:05:30a member of North Korea's ruling family.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41His father was Kim Jong-il, the ruthless dictator
0:05:41 > 0:05:45who ruled the secretive police state for 17 years.
0:05:46 > 0:05:50For seven decades, the Kim family has run North Korea
0:05:50 > 0:05:52through a bizarre personality cult.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56They have created a fearsome police state,
0:05:56 > 0:05:59built on gross and systematic human rights abuses.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07Kim Jong-nam was the product of Kim Jong-il's love affair
0:06:07 > 0:06:09with a famous North Korean actress.
0:06:10 > 0:06:15His mother was number one film star in my generation.
0:06:19 > 0:06:24His mother was a married woman with a daughter.
0:06:24 > 0:06:28Every North Korean people knew his mother's name,
0:06:28 > 0:06:30Song Hye-rim, very popular lady.
0:06:30 > 0:06:36So, Kim Jong-nam was not the son by official marriage.
0:06:38 > 0:06:42The boy was brought up in luxury, like a royal prince,
0:06:42 > 0:06:44but his existence was kept secret.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49Kim Jong-nam's childhood was very, very cloistered.
0:06:49 > 0:06:51The ceilings in the house were so high,
0:06:51 > 0:06:54they needed to bring in scaffolding to dust the lights.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00There was always the off-chance that Kim Jong-il would be dining
0:07:00 > 0:07:03with Kim Jong-nam, and so somebody literally goes through
0:07:03 > 0:07:08a sack of rice and pulls out any irregular, any broken piece of rice.
0:07:08 > 0:07:14You are talking a perfect bag of rice, sent to Kim Jong-nam's house.
0:07:14 > 0:07:18He was a bit like his father - artistic, I think.
0:07:23 > 0:07:29And Kim Jong-il doted on Kim Jong-nam, and when his family,
0:07:29 > 0:07:36his mother, aunt, etc, was planning to send him away for education
0:07:36 > 0:07:41in foreign country, we know that Kim Jong-il cried.
0:07:41 > 0:07:47He wept, and he remonstrated, protested against their plan.
0:07:47 > 0:07:52Despite the dictator's surprisingly emotional outpourings,
0:07:52 > 0:07:54the women held sway.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57Kim Jong-nam was sent off to school in Geneva.
0:07:58 > 0:08:03My earliest memories of Kim, we were, I think, around 15.
0:08:03 > 0:08:05One day we entered in class,
0:08:05 > 0:08:08and we saw that guy who looked like an adult for us.
0:08:08 > 0:08:13We didn't know at the time that he was the son of Kim Jong-il.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16I think we didn't even know he was Korean.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19We didn't really care at the time,
0:08:19 > 0:08:24but we saw him arrive with his little attache case, a black suit,
0:08:24 > 0:08:27his hair done just like his dad, you know.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29Back then, I called him Lee. I called him Lee.
0:08:29 > 0:08:31That is what he told us his name was - Lee.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34I think that's what he showed us on his driver's licence,
0:08:34 > 0:08:35I'm not sure.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37We loved the fact he had a fake driver's licence.
0:08:37 > 0:08:41We thought it was fake, because he was obviously 15 in our class,
0:08:41 > 0:08:44but his licence said he was 18, and he was driving, and we loved that.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47Very, very jealous at the time, as all young boys would be.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53Released from his secretive existence inside North Korea,
0:08:53 > 0:08:56Kim Jong-nam got his first taste of life in the West.
0:08:58 > 0:09:03I remember it was the beginning of, like, cameras, and he was always
0:09:03 > 0:09:07taking his camera to school and filming everybody.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10Today, your phone has a camera, but at the time,
0:09:10 > 0:09:13it was something special to have your own camera.
0:09:13 > 0:09:15I think he was just happy...
0:09:17 > 0:09:20..to take glimpses of life, you know, to photograph.
0:09:20 > 0:09:25So maybe it was interesting for him to film us...carefree.
0:09:28 > 0:09:32But in 1988, that carefree life came to an end.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38The 17-year-old was summoned back to North Korea.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46His father revealed him to the rest of the family,
0:09:46 > 0:09:50and he was prepared for leadership, North Korean style.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55During the 1990s, as North Korea's economy starts to sort of
0:09:55 > 0:09:59deteriorate, buses of security agents would arrive in a town,
0:09:59 > 0:10:02a factory town, overnight.
0:10:02 > 0:10:04They would sit there
0:10:04 > 0:10:07and then they would start picking people to execute publicly.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11Kim Jong-nam was involved in that, and he was involved
0:10:11 > 0:10:16in attending public executions of party and economic officials.
0:10:17 > 0:10:19I don't think he had the ice in his veins
0:10:19 > 0:10:22necessary to do what it took to...
0:10:23 > 0:10:26It's not easy to hold a country together
0:10:26 > 0:10:28the way they're holding a country together.
0:10:28 > 0:10:32There's a certain skill set you need that he didn't have.
0:10:32 > 0:10:33He was a nice boy.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36He's got different ideas and he starts to become
0:10:36 > 0:10:39a rebellious teenager, a rebellious 20-year-old,
0:10:39 > 0:10:43and this does not really sit well with Kim Jong-il.
0:10:45 > 0:10:49Faced with this increasingly brutal and isolated dictatorship,
0:10:49 > 0:10:51Kim Jong-nam wanted out.
0:10:56 > 0:10:58Eventually, his father let him go,
0:10:58 > 0:11:00but only as far as neighbouring China.
0:11:11 > 0:11:15An illustrious corpse in North Korea's game of thrones,
0:11:15 > 0:11:19or just accidental death? Kim Jong-un's older half-brother...
0:11:19 > 0:11:22It looks like something straight out of the pages of a spy novel.
0:11:22 > 0:11:24North Korean royalty, Kim Jong-nam,
0:11:24 > 0:11:28the estranged, exiled half-brother of leader Kim Jong-un...
0:11:28 > 0:11:31Within days of Kim's murder, Malaysian police captured
0:11:31 > 0:11:34the two woman who carried out the attack in the airport.
0:11:35 > 0:11:37Officials say one is an Indonesian,
0:11:37 > 0:11:40while the other was carrying a Vietnamese passport...
0:11:42 > 0:11:46For local journalists, this was a huge international story.
0:11:46 > 0:11:48There was an adrenaline rush to it.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50It was quite addictive, I have to admit.
0:11:53 > 0:11:57As far as the police are concerned, it was pretty clear cut.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59Everything was on CCTV camera.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01They had done the act, that was for sure.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08But the story was about to take its first sensational twist.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16One of the killers, 25-year-old Indonesian Siti Aisyah,
0:12:16 > 0:12:20now gave her extraordinary version of what happened.
0:12:21 > 0:12:23She claimed that, six weeks earlier,
0:12:23 > 0:12:26she'd made a Japanese man called James.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29He'd offered her the media opportunity of a lifetime -
0:12:29 > 0:12:32work on a YouTube prank show.
0:12:32 > 0:12:36When she met this so-called James, she was asked to watch
0:12:36 > 0:12:40another lady, to see how the prank was being played.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46She was asked to play about three pranks, and after the pranks,
0:12:46 > 0:12:49she was paid a certain sum of money.
0:12:49 > 0:12:53And the next day, again, she was taken to the airport,
0:12:53 > 0:12:59where again, they played about three pranks at the arrival area.
0:13:02 > 0:13:06With James, Siti carried out dozens of filmed pranks
0:13:06 > 0:13:09on people she thought were unsuspecting members of the public.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13He told her she was becoming a big star.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18Siti posted this video on Facebook.
0:13:19 > 0:13:21When we go... When we...
0:13:23 > 0:13:26The man she knew as James seemed a little camera shy.
0:13:28 > 0:13:33Now, Siti was a social escort, and she was also a masseuse,
0:13:33 > 0:13:36and her income wasn't very high,
0:13:36 > 0:13:39and she didn't quite like the job that she was doing.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42And when she was introduced to play these pranks,
0:13:42 > 0:13:45she was quite excited about the whole thing.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48She even told all her friends about the pranks that she played.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51Because she actually believed
0:13:51 > 0:13:55that that this could have been her new career.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00The second woman involved in the attack
0:14:00 > 0:14:02was 28-year-old Doan Thi Huong.
0:14:05 > 0:14:09She came from over 1,000 miles away, in Hanoi, Vietnam,
0:14:09 > 0:14:12where she worked in a bar, and dreamed of becoming a singer.
0:14:15 > 0:14:19Just like Siti, Doan said she had been rehearsing pranks
0:14:19 > 0:14:21in cities around Southeast Asia.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27Astonishingly, both women claim they had never met
0:14:27 > 0:14:30before the fatal prank in Kuala Lumpur airport.
0:14:31 > 0:14:33Now, Siti did not know
0:14:33 > 0:14:36that Kim Jong-nam died on the day of the incident.
0:14:36 > 0:14:38She only realised after the police came to her.
0:14:41 > 0:14:43We told her what actually happened,
0:14:43 > 0:14:46that she had been charged for cases punishable with death,
0:14:46 > 0:14:49and then she realised how serious the matter was,
0:14:49 > 0:14:51and then she broke down.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55I think the representatives of the two ladies
0:14:55 > 0:14:59are standing firm on the fact
0:14:59 > 0:15:01that these ladies were deceived.
0:15:01 > 0:15:05On the other hand, somebody has to be held accountable for the murder.
0:15:05 > 0:15:09You cannot plead ignorance in your defence.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12So, let's see how it pans out.
0:15:15 > 0:15:17By the late 1990s,
0:15:17 > 0:15:22Kim Jong-nam was living the life of an international playboy.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25Based in Macau, known as the Las Vegas of China,
0:15:25 > 0:15:29he was thought to have several wives and at least six children.
0:15:32 > 0:15:37On the whole, he was more like a tycoon,
0:15:37 > 0:15:41without taste for hard work of a typical tycoon.
0:15:41 > 0:15:46He was a kind of playboy, typical bourgeoisie playboy mentality.
0:15:46 > 0:15:51And he never lacked the money, lots of money to spend.
0:15:51 > 0:15:55Lots of money, but he still seemed to be wanting more money.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00One of the things Kim Jong-nam liked to do was
0:16:00 > 0:16:02he did like to treat his friends
0:16:02 > 0:16:07to the talents and favours of ladies of the night.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10You know, he would say, "I'll pay 10,000 if you want to sleep
0:16:10 > 0:16:14"with these beautiful Czech women, or these beautiful Chinese women."
0:16:15 > 0:16:17Kim Jong-nam said, "Look, I'm going to watch,"
0:16:17 > 0:16:20from, I don't know, a keyhole or a closet or something like that.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23"I'm just going to watch." So there was also a degree of voyeurism.
0:16:23 > 0:16:25North Korea's a voyeuristic culture.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28Everyone's under surveillance in North Korea.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34So, how did Kim fund his exotic tastes?
0:16:38 > 0:16:41The answer lies in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45It was one of his favourite cities.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48When he was here, Kim would often eat at this Korean restaurant.
0:17:18 > 0:17:22Kim Jong-nam had never cut his ties to North Korea.
0:17:22 > 0:17:26In fact, he still played a key role in his father's regime.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28He was running an international business network,
0:17:28 > 0:17:31generating funds for the family.
0:17:53 > 0:17:57Kim Jong-nam was involved in a whole host of illicit businesses
0:17:57 > 0:17:59that North Korea conducted.
0:18:01 > 0:18:05He could have been involved in nuclear missile arms trade,
0:18:05 > 0:18:08he could have been involved in currency counterfeiting,
0:18:08 > 0:18:12he could have been involved with some drug smuggling.
0:18:12 > 0:18:16So, it was unclear exactly what he did for a living,
0:18:16 > 0:18:20but we know that he was involved in this whole host of things,
0:18:20 > 0:18:22particularly that involved money and currency
0:18:22 > 0:18:24that would go back to North Korea.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27Kim Jong-nam had been mainly involved in
0:18:27 > 0:18:29what's called technology acquisition,
0:18:29 > 0:18:33so he would buy computer software and send it back to the DPRK.
0:18:33 > 0:18:34Some iPhones will have them,
0:18:34 > 0:18:37some laptop computers will have certain dual-use technologies,
0:18:37 > 0:18:42which, if you pluck it out, can be used for detonators and missiles.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44This is all about the missile programme
0:18:44 > 0:18:47and nuclear weapons programme, and chemical weapons,
0:18:47 > 0:18:50but they are looking to use these things in missiles.
0:18:50 > 0:18:54Whether he knew what was in those boxes or not is a different thing,
0:18:54 > 0:18:56but he must have realised it at some point.
0:18:57 > 0:19:02By 2007, Kim was a wealthy international wheeler dealer,
0:19:02 > 0:19:04at the heart of North Korea's business empire.
0:19:14 > 0:19:15Nearly a week after the killing,
0:19:15 > 0:19:19the Malaysian police announced their first big breakthrough.
0:19:21 > 0:19:23As the investigation progressed,
0:19:23 > 0:19:26four suspects have been identified...
0:19:27 > 0:19:31..which could assist us very much in the investigation,
0:19:31 > 0:19:36and I can confirm today that they have left our country
0:19:36 > 0:19:39the very same day the incident happened. Yeah.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44The two foreign woman hadn't been operating alone
0:19:44 > 0:19:46in Kuala Lumpur airport.
0:20:30 > 0:20:34Malaysian police had studied the CCTV footage from the airport.
0:20:38 > 0:20:41It revealed that at least four North Korean agents
0:20:41 > 0:20:43were on the ground at the time of the attack.
0:20:46 > 0:20:48The key figure was a man in a grey shirt,
0:20:48 > 0:20:52identified as 57-year-old Ree Jay-nam.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56He was known to the international intelligence community.
0:20:57 > 0:21:03Ree Jay-nam is a long-time North Korean intelligence operative,
0:21:03 > 0:21:05somebody that's got extensive contact overseas.
0:21:07 > 0:21:11Ree Jay-nam coordinates the operation from the coffee shop.
0:21:11 > 0:21:15An agent outside gives the signal that the target is arriving.
0:21:15 > 0:21:17Ree identifies him, then walks off.
0:21:19 > 0:21:21As Kim looks at the departure board,
0:21:21 > 0:21:25he has no idea he is now surrounded by North Korean secret agents.
0:21:27 > 0:21:29Another signal is given
0:21:29 > 0:21:32and the two young women separately approach their target.
0:21:35 > 0:21:39As the women go in, yet another agent seems to be watching.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17As Kim Jong-nam enters the clinic,
0:22:17 > 0:22:21another agent appears to follow him and look in on the dying man.
0:22:23 > 0:22:25Before the target was confirmed dead,
0:22:25 > 0:22:28the North Korean agents had already made their escape.
0:22:30 > 0:22:34They boarded a plane to Jakarta and flew via Dubai and Vladivostok
0:22:34 > 0:22:37to Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41It looked like the perfect hit.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46The recruitment of two foreigners was done
0:22:46 > 0:22:49so that they could remove their fingerprints from this assassination
0:22:49 > 0:22:52and essentially point the finger in another direction.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58I suspect they were expecting these women,
0:22:58 > 0:23:00because they didn't use gloves,
0:23:00 > 0:23:02to die of this chemical.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05But the women went to the bathroom very quickly,
0:23:05 > 0:23:08washed off the chemical and were able to survive.
0:23:24 > 0:23:26But within days,
0:23:26 > 0:23:30the Malaysian police were pointing the finger firmly at North Korea.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37It brought an angry response and complete denial.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40It has been seven days since the incident...
0:23:41 > 0:23:45..but there is no clear evidence on the cause of the death.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49And, at the moment, we cannot trust the investigation
0:23:49 > 0:23:52by the Malaysian police.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55We have been respecting the Malaysian police
0:23:55 > 0:23:57and waiting with patience
0:23:57 > 0:24:02for their fair and accurate investigation result.
0:24:02 > 0:24:06On the contrary, they pinned their suspicion on us
0:24:06 > 0:24:10and targeted the investigation against us.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14Now, there are so many rumours spread to the public
0:24:14 > 0:24:16to defame the image
0:24:16 > 0:24:19of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
0:24:19 > 0:24:23The Malaysian police should bear the full responsibility for that.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26Thank you. This is my all comment.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29- Thank you. - REPORTERS CLAMOUR
0:24:40 > 0:24:43The killing in Kuala Lumpur was the latest chapter
0:24:43 > 0:24:45in the bloody history of the North Korean regime.
0:24:47 > 0:24:49Ten years ago, when his father was alive,
0:24:49 > 0:24:53Kim Jong-nam was still an important figure.
0:24:53 > 0:24:57But in 2008, the old dictator suffered a debilitating stroke.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04He had to choose a successor from among his children.
0:25:07 > 0:25:09It wasn't a strong field.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17Kim Jong-il had two daughters,
0:25:17 > 0:25:20but they were automatically ruled out...for being women.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25He once reportedly complained that all his sons were idle blockheads.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31His oldest son, who he'd doted on as a child,
0:25:31 > 0:25:34Kim Jong-nam, was now a dissolute international playboy.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39How is your relationship with your brother?
0:25:39 > 0:25:41There was a mysterious second son.
0:25:41 > 0:25:43All the world really knows about him
0:25:43 > 0:25:46is that he is an Eric Clapton obsessive,
0:25:46 > 0:25:48who pops up at concerts around the world.
0:25:51 > 0:25:53It left just one last option.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00There's this younger guy, he's 23, 24 years old,
0:26:00 > 0:26:02his name's Kim Jong-un,
0:26:02 > 0:26:05he starts to get the similar kind of jobs that Kim Jong-nam got.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07Cos this is a family business
0:26:07 > 0:26:10and so, as long as you're not a chronic alcoholic,
0:26:10 > 0:26:12and you can sit up straight in your chair,
0:26:12 > 0:26:15and you're not mentally retarded, you're going to get a job.
0:26:15 > 0:26:17The Kim family, they trust you,
0:26:17 > 0:26:19they trust family members,
0:26:19 > 0:26:22and so, Kim Jong-un's career kind of starts
0:26:22 > 0:26:24and that's the best option because it's all they know.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27That's the life they know - is the strongman dictator.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35With the ageing tyrant's health failing,
0:26:35 > 0:26:38the youthful Kim Jong-un was anointed successor.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42He now needed a crash course in dictatorship.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52But this training was cut short.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56In December 2011, Kim Jong-il died.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02Still in his twenties, Kim Jong-un was now declared supreme leader.
0:27:04 > 0:27:07Enemies at home and abroad began to circle.
0:27:08 > 0:27:12In the West, many hoped the regime would reform or collapse.
0:27:12 > 0:27:14In order to survive,
0:27:14 > 0:27:18he needed to show progress on the critical defence systems -
0:27:18 > 0:27:22this would be the missile systems and the nuclear systems.
0:27:22 > 0:27:26He needed to be able to show that North Korea had a viable deterrent.
0:27:32 > 0:27:36North Korea has had nuclear weapons since the 1990s.
0:27:36 > 0:27:40Kim Jong-un soon set about dramatically accelerating
0:27:40 > 0:27:42the nuclear missile programme.
0:27:43 > 0:27:47So far, he has conducted more than 80 tests, developing missile systems
0:27:47 > 0:27:51that can deliver nuclear weapons over huge distances.
0:27:55 > 0:27:57North Korea is at the last stage
0:27:57 > 0:28:00of perfecting its nuclear programme.
0:28:00 > 0:28:04It's last deterrent that they're working on is achieving
0:28:04 > 0:28:08a capability of nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile
0:28:08 > 0:28:11to hit New York or Washington
0:28:11 > 0:28:14and they are getting closer to perfecting that programme,
0:28:14 > 0:28:20so I think this crisis is heading towards a finale, if you will.
0:28:20 > 0:28:22BAND MUSIC PLAYS
0:28:22 > 0:28:25CHEERING
0:28:25 > 0:28:29The young dictator also saw enemies at home.
0:28:29 > 0:28:31Within months of assuming power,
0:28:31 > 0:28:34he'd begun a brutal purge of senior officials...
0:28:34 > 0:28:36anyone who might have challenged him.
0:28:38 > 0:28:42Kim Jong-un did not have years or decades
0:28:42 > 0:28:46to build his power base within the regime.
0:28:46 > 0:28:52He has only had a few years to do something that it took his father
0:28:52 > 0:28:5530 years to do.
0:28:55 > 0:28:57In order to survive,
0:28:57 > 0:29:00he had to conduct politics inside the regime
0:29:00 > 0:29:02and politics inside North Korea is a blood sport.
0:29:02 > 0:29:05It is not something for the weak of heart.
0:29:07 > 0:29:11The second most powerful man in North Korea was Kim's uncle,
0:29:11 > 0:29:13Jang Song-thaek...
0:29:13 > 0:29:16For years, the country's second in command.
0:29:17 > 0:29:22In December 2013, he was arrested and executed,
0:29:22 > 0:29:24blown to pieces with an anti-aircraft gun
0:29:24 > 0:29:27while his family was forced to watch on.
0:29:28 > 0:29:32As Kim Jong-un's paranoid reign of terror continued,
0:29:32 > 0:29:34his brother, Kim Jong-nam,
0:29:34 > 0:29:36looked increasingly vulnerable.
0:29:37 > 0:29:41As the oldest son, he was still a potential rival.
0:29:41 > 0:29:46Even worse, he had gone public in his criticism of the succession.
0:30:15 > 0:30:18Between 2010 and 2012,
0:30:18 > 0:30:22Kim Jong-nam exchanged almost 150 e-mails
0:30:22 > 0:30:24with Japanese journalist Yoji Gomi.
0:30:31 > 0:30:34In them, Jong-nam repeatedly criticised the decision
0:30:34 > 0:30:36to pass power to his half brother.
0:30:39 > 0:30:43He suggested that the new leader lacked experience
0:30:43 > 0:30:45and would end up as nothing but a puppet.
0:30:46 > 0:30:49He also criticised how the country was being run.
0:30:51 > 0:30:54Kim Jong-nam's experiences studying in Europe
0:30:54 > 0:30:56and living in China had persuaded him
0:30:56 > 0:31:00that North Korea should open up and introduce Chinese-style reforms.
0:31:40 > 0:31:44Less than a month after Kim Jong-un came to power,
0:31:44 > 0:31:46Yoji Gomi published the e-mails.
0:31:46 > 0:31:51It was an unforgivable public insult to North Korea's new dictator.
0:31:51 > 0:31:54Kim Jong-nam was living on borrowed time.
0:31:54 > 0:31:56This was on a narrow list of possibilities
0:31:56 > 0:31:59as to how Kim Jong-nam's life was going to turn out for him
0:31:59 > 0:32:02after his half brother succeeded in North Korea.
0:32:03 > 0:32:10Kim Jong-un has to make decision whether he will let his half brother
0:32:10 > 0:32:15wandering around the world from time to time meeting foreign journalists
0:32:15 > 0:32:22and saying negative or words against Kim Jong-un's leadership,
0:32:22 > 0:32:28or he should eliminate the physical existence of Kim Jong-nam.
0:32:28 > 0:32:31100% Kim Jong-un gave the order.
0:32:31 > 0:32:34There is no way, I would say zero possibility,
0:32:34 > 0:32:37a North Korean agent can kill Kim Jong-nam,
0:32:37 > 0:32:40the supreme leader's half brother,
0:32:40 > 0:32:44without direct guidance and order and approval by Kim Jong-un himself.
0:32:54 > 0:32:56Last week, at Kuala Lumpur Airport,
0:32:56 > 0:32:59someone chose to attack Kim Jong-nam.
0:32:59 > 0:33:02Today we learned what killed him and it's even more shocking.
0:33:02 > 0:33:06The half brother of North Korea's leader was assassinated
0:33:06 > 0:33:09using the most toxic nerve agent ever created...
0:33:09 > 0:33:12The next bombshell from the Malaysian police
0:33:12 > 0:33:14took the story to a whole new level.
0:33:18 > 0:33:21A press release was sent out to media outlets
0:33:21 > 0:33:25from the Inspector General of Police saying that
0:33:25 > 0:33:29his cause of death was due to something known as VX agent,
0:33:29 > 0:33:31which was completely new to us.
0:33:31 > 0:33:34It sounded like something out of a spy novel.
0:33:35 > 0:33:36The...
0:33:36 > 0:33:39chemical that we discovered,
0:33:39 > 0:33:41which caused the death,
0:33:41 > 0:33:45is VX, which is a little weapon...
0:33:45 > 0:33:48registered under the...
0:33:48 > 0:33:50registered as a chemical weapon.
0:33:54 > 0:33:56I recall that on Monday morning
0:33:56 > 0:33:59I got a call from our Director General's office.
0:34:02 > 0:34:05A apparently we had received a note verbale
0:34:05 > 0:34:10from the Malaysian embassy here asking for the OPCW's assistance
0:34:10 > 0:34:12and they wanted some technical assistance.
0:34:12 > 0:34:14They wanted some advice from me,
0:34:14 > 0:34:16some reference materials and whatnot.
0:34:19 > 0:34:23The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
0:34:23 > 0:34:27confirmed the astonishing findings about what killed Kim Jong-nam.
0:34:27 > 0:34:29VX is a nerve agent.
0:34:29 > 0:34:33It's actually the most powerful nerve agent that's known to date.
0:34:33 > 0:34:36It's about ten times more powerful than sarin,
0:34:36 > 0:34:40about 300 times more powerful than mustard gas
0:34:40 > 0:34:44and about 5,000 times more potent than chlorine,
0:34:44 > 0:34:45so it's really toxic.
0:34:45 > 0:34:49It takes about 10mg to kill an average adult person.
0:34:49 > 0:34:52Now, 10mg is just a fraction of a drop,
0:34:52 > 0:34:54so it doesn't take very much.
0:34:54 > 0:34:57It looks like a horrible way to die.
0:34:57 > 0:34:59You basically suffocate, you convulse,
0:34:59 > 0:35:02you're jerking around, it's not pleasant at all.
0:35:06 > 0:35:07VX was first developed
0:35:07 > 0:35:12by Britain's Porton Down weapons laboratory in the 1950s.
0:35:14 > 0:35:17One of the most lethal weapons of mass destruction,
0:35:17 > 0:35:20it has never been used in warfare.
0:35:20 > 0:35:25Why use a chemical VX nerve agent in a public international airport?
0:35:25 > 0:35:27So many things could have gone wrong.
0:35:27 > 0:35:30One of the ladies could have just done it wrong
0:35:30 > 0:35:33with somebody else just by tripping. So many accidental possibilities.
0:35:33 > 0:35:37You needed something that would kill him,
0:35:37 > 0:35:42but that you would have the lag time, or the delay, in the death
0:35:42 > 0:35:46that would allow the North Koreans to get out of the country.
0:35:46 > 0:35:47If you slit his throat,
0:35:47 > 0:35:50one, you can't do it in a public place.
0:35:50 > 0:35:55Two, you can't use foreign agents that you have duped into thinking
0:35:55 > 0:35:58that this is some sort of a... a game show.
0:35:58 > 0:36:01And I think Kim Jong-un wanted to make a point
0:36:01 > 0:36:05to any would-be rivals, potential opponents, defectors out there,
0:36:05 > 0:36:08saying, "I can kill you in any manner."
0:36:08 > 0:36:11I think he wanted it to be public. He wanted the whole world to know.
0:36:11 > 0:36:15North Korea's nuclear weapons programme has left it isolated
0:36:15 > 0:36:17from the international community.
0:36:18 > 0:36:22This public display of a chemical weapon as powerful as VX
0:36:22 > 0:36:24was another act of defiance.
0:36:24 > 0:36:29VX is banned under the International Chemical Weapons Convention.
0:36:29 > 0:36:33There are currently 192 member states
0:36:33 > 0:36:35that are signed up for the Convention,
0:36:35 > 0:36:37that's almost the full world.
0:36:37 > 0:36:40There are four hold-outs - Egypt, Israel,
0:36:40 > 0:36:42South Sudan and North Korea -
0:36:42 > 0:36:45and we have sent a number of messages to North Korea
0:36:45 > 0:36:47asking them to accede to the convention.
0:36:47 > 0:36:51Chemical weapons of mass destruction pose a direct threat
0:36:51 > 0:36:53to North Korea's neighbours in the region.
0:36:53 > 0:36:58The South Korean capital Seoul is just 35 miles from the border.
0:36:58 > 0:37:03Chemical agents, in general, used in a military context,
0:37:03 > 0:37:07can be loaded into bombs, mines, mortars, that type of thing.
0:37:07 > 0:37:11All chemical agents could kill huge numbers of people
0:37:11 > 0:37:15if it's delivered...effectively for their purposes.
0:37:21 > 0:37:25In response, North Korea poured scorn on the idea
0:37:25 > 0:37:28that VX nerve agent could be used to kill the man
0:37:28 > 0:37:30they were still calling Kim Chol.
0:37:32 > 0:37:36How is it possible two female ladies,
0:37:36 > 0:37:40who used their bare hands to contain the material,
0:37:40 > 0:37:44and applied to the face of the victim
0:37:44 > 0:37:47that the two ladies survived?
0:37:47 > 0:37:50There's no single person or passenger...
0:37:51 > 0:37:52..who got contaminated...
0:37:53 > 0:37:55..or affected.
0:37:55 > 0:37:57According to the information we have...
0:37:58 > 0:38:01..Kim Chol has health problems.
0:38:02 > 0:38:06He has a record of myocardial infarction disease,
0:38:06 > 0:38:09in other words, heart disease.
0:38:09 > 0:38:12Therefore, this is a strong indication
0:38:12 > 0:38:15that the cause of the death...
0:38:16 > 0:38:18..is the heart attack.
0:38:18 > 0:38:21JOUNALISTS CLAMOUR
0:38:28 > 0:38:30The diplomatic row between North Korea
0:38:30 > 0:38:33and Malaysia began to escalate
0:38:33 > 0:38:37and it raised some awkward questions for the Malaysian authorities.
0:38:40 > 0:38:45The Kim Jong-nam assassination has really thrown up a lot of details
0:38:45 > 0:38:49about the broader relationship between Malaysia and North Korea.
0:38:51 > 0:38:55We now know through some of these details coming out about the case,
0:38:55 > 0:38:59but also other investigations that have arisen at the same time,
0:38:59 > 0:39:02that actually North Korean activity in Malaysia
0:39:02 > 0:39:04was extremely widespread.
0:39:04 > 0:39:09Malaysia was very important country to North Korea.
0:39:09 > 0:39:15Actually, Malaysia was regarded a kind of window for North Korea
0:39:15 > 0:39:17to go abroad because...
0:39:17 > 0:39:22Malaysia is a visa-free country for North Korea.
0:39:22 > 0:39:24It was a kind of paradise
0:39:24 > 0:39:28for North Korea to expand their business.
0:39:33 > 0:39:36It emerged that there had been more than a thousand North Koreans
0:39:36 > 0:39:38living and working in Malaysia.
0:40:10 > 0:40:13The access road to Borneo Highlands,
0:40:13 > 0:40:15one of the toughest road projects in Malaysia,
0:40:15 > 0:40:17with its more than 30% gradient,
0:40:17 > 0:40:21completed in 1998 by MKP.
0:41:11 > 0:41:14North Korea's influence in Malaysia
0:41:14 > 0:41:17went far beyond road building and golf courses.
0:41:21 > 0:41:23This is Glocom, an arms company.
0:41:28 > 0:41:33Glocom was a network selling military communications
0:41:33 > 0:41:35out of Malaysia,
0:41:35 > 0:41:38marketing arms and related material overseas,
0:41:38 > 0:41:42pretending to be a Malaysian arms manufacturer
0:41:42 > 0:41:45but indeed was, behind the scenes, North Korean,
0:41:45 > 0:41:49selling its technology to parts of Africa,
0:41:49 > 0:41:51the Middle East and potentially Southeast Asia.
0:41:54 > 0:41:56Malaysia isn't the only country
0:41:56 > 0:41:59to play host to North Korean businesses.
0:42:00 > 0:42:02Many have the view that North Korea is actually
0:42:02 > 0:42:06extremely, extremely isolated from the international community,
0:42:06 > 0:42:10that it doesn't have trade relations with the outside world, bar China,
0:42:10 > 0:42:14but the truth couldn't be further from that, actually.
0:42:14 > 0:42:19North Korea is very sophisticated in concealing the fact
0:42:19 > 0:42:22that it is indeed North Korea doing business overseas.
0:42:22 > 0:42:24It's good at hiding in plain sight.
0:42:24 > 0:42:30North Korea has been doing this stuff since around 1974, 1975,
0:42:30 > 0:42:33so they have been doing this for four decades.
0:42:34 > 0:42:37So this is a multibillion dollar...
0:42:37 > 0:42:40economic activity the North Koreans are involved in.
0:42:42 > 0:42:47Even in Europe you can find North Korean business activity.
0:42:47 > 0:42:50North Korea's national insurance company was able
0:42:50 > 0:42:52to operate in the UK.
0:42:52 > 0:42:56It's not believed that North Korea has strong...
0:42:56 > 0:42:59links in the conventional sense to the United States,
0:42:59 > 0:43:03but we have seen that North Korea is able to access
0:43:03 > 0:43:05products from the United States of America.
0:43:05 > 0:43:09Kim Jong-un's motorcade was armoured in the United States
0:43:09 > 0:43:11and then re-exported to North Korea
0:43:11 > 0:43:15without, seemingly, the knowledge of US customs authorities.
0:43:18 > 0:43:20You need to understand that North Korea essentially has
0:43:20 > 0:43:22three different economies.
0:43:22 > 0:43:24You have the normal national economy,
0:43:24 > 0:43:26you have the defence economy,
0:43:26 > 0:43:29and then you have the royal economy.
0:43:30 > 0:43:33The royal economy is an international business network
0:43:33 > 0:43:37which funds the lavish lifestyle of the Kim family.
0:43:37 > 0:43:41Most of the money goes through a mysterious government department
0:43:41 > 0:43:43called Office 39.
0:43:43 > 0:43:48Well, on paper, Office 39 is just another department
0:43:48 > 0:43:50in the Korean Worker's Party,
0:43:50 > 0:43:57but, in practice, Office 39 is the ultimate slush fund.
0:43:57 > 0:44:00It mixes both illicit and licit activity
0:44:00 > 0:44:04and creates that kind of support
0:44:04 > 0:44:08internally in North Korea to keep the leadership and the elite happy.
0:44:12 > 0:44:16Office 39 is thought to bring in up to £1 billion a year
0:44:16 > 0:44:18for the Kim family.
0:44:21 > 0:44:25The population of North Korea lives in desperate poverty.
0:44:25 > 0:44:28A famine in the 1990s is thought to have killed
0:44:28 > 0:44:29up to two million people.
0:44:31 > 0:44:34While ordinary North Koreans go hungry,
0:44:34 > 0:44:38a huge proportion of national income is diverted to the ruling clique.
0:44:40 > 0:44:42Our company, insurance company,
0:44:42 > 0:44:47was totally out of control of the cabinet
0:44:47 > 0:44:50and of the finance ministry
0:44:50 > 0:44:52and of the central bank.
0:44:54 > 0:44:58So, out of the system that is Kim family economy,
0:44:58 > 0:45:01they are making foreign cash from these businesses.
0:45:01 > 0:45:07So we make money and withdraw
0:45:07 > 0:45:1120 million US dollar cash every year...
0:45:11 > 0:45:14for Kim Jong-il's birthday.
0:45:14 > 0:45:20So we keep them, count them and put them in 20 boxes, one million each.
0:45:20 > 0:45:24It was regarded as one of the best profitable organisations
0:45:24 > 0:45:26in North Korea, in Pyongyang,
0:45:26 > 0:45:29and we enjoyed benefit for that.
0:45:31 > 0:45:34The people working for overseas departments and offices
0:45:34 > 0:45:37are required to pay 30,000 to 50,000 euros a year.
0:45:41 > 0:45:45In North Korea, all the foreign currency is calculated in euros
0:45:45 > 0:45:49because US dollars are considered the currency of US imperialism.
0:45:50 > 0:45:52But when they actually take back cash,
0:45:52 > 0:45:54they carry dollars, not euros.
0:45:55 > 0:45:58It isn't difficult to take back 20,000 to 30,000
0:45:58 > 0:46:02because it isn't bulky and it can be carried in a bag.
0:46:04 > 0:46:08These are people that are highly capable of figuring out
0:46:08 > 0:46:13how to procure money and assets for the Kim family.
0:46:13 > 0:46:17These are people that can change their location
0:46:17 > 0:46:20and their mode of operation,
0:46:20 > 0:46:24and even their identity, constantly shifting,
0:46:24 > 0:46:26so that authorities around the world
0:46:26 > 0:46:29find it very difficult to track them.
0:46:33 > 0:46:38This revenue has allowed Kim Jong-un to spend an estimated £500m
0:46:38 > 0:46:43on luxury goods for himself and the ruling elite.
0:46:46 > 0:46:50Since 2006, the international community has imposed
0:46:50 > 0:46:52economic sanctions on the regime.
0:46:53 > 0:46:57Recently, even the country closest to North Korea, China,
0:46:57 > 0:47:01has agreed to sanctions aimed at stopping Kim's nuclear programme.
0:47:02 > 0:47:05I always say that UN sanctions on North Korea
0:47:05 > 0:47:07are like an expanding sieve.
0:47:07 > 0:47:09No single one of the sanctions measures
0:47:09 > 0:47:13that have been put in place against North Korea at the UN level
0:47:13 > 0:47:17enjoys robust, global implementation.
0:47:17 > 0:47:20If China systemically implemented the sanctions
0:47:20 > 0:47:25at the UN that it has agreed to, that would be a huge step forward.
0:47:25 > 0:47:27But actually, it's not just China that's important here.
0:47:27 > 0:47:29There's so many countries around the world
0:47:29 > 0:47:31that have those North Korean business communities,
0:47:31 > 0:47:33that have those political ties still to North Korea,
0:47:33 > 0:47:36that aren't using the leverage that they too have.
0:47:40 > 0:47:43One of the main concerns has been Malaysia.
0:47:44 > 0:47:47The Malaysian authorities have been accused of, at best,
0:47:47 > 0:47:51turning a blind eye to North Korean business activities.
0:47:52 > 0:47:55We've seen Malaysian politicians,
0:47:55 > 0:47:58from various parts of the system, actually involved
0:47:58 > 0:48:01in North Korean business taking place in Southeast Asia
0:48:01 > 0:48:04and the more we look, the more instances of that we seem to find.
0:48:04 > 0:48:07So they're completely in the spotlight
0:48:07 > 0:48:09and are deeply uncomfortable with it.
0:48:17 > 0:48:20Three weeks on from the death of Kim Jong-nam,
0:48:20 > 0:48:23pressure was building on the Malaysian government
0:48:23 > 0:48:25to take action against North Korea.
0:48:28 > 0:48:32Finally, they expelled the North Korean ambassador.
0:48:32 > 0:48:35SHOUTING
0:48:35 > 0:48:39I express grave concern over the extreme measures
0:48:39 > 0:48:41taken by the Malaysian government,
0:48:41 > 0:48:44doing great harm to the bilateral relations,
0:48:44 > 0:48:46which has a history of more than 40 years.
0:48:49 > 0:48:53North Korea was prepared to sacrifice the friendly relations
0:48:53 > 0:48:56for that particular assassination -
0:48:56 > 0:49:00that was that much important to North Korean regime.
0:49:04 > 0:49:08The diplomatic confrontation between the two countries continued.
0:49:08 > 0:49:11It emerged that three more suspects in the assassination
0:49:11 > 0:49:14were holed up in the North Korean embassy.
0:49:17 > 0:49:20The Malaysian government was forced to let them leave the country
0:49:20 > 0:49:25in return for the release of nine of its own diplomats held in Pyongyang.
0:49:25 > 0:49:29All the North Korean suspects had got away.
0:49:30 > 0:49:34For high-ranking North Korean defectors brave enough to speak out,
0:49:34 > 0:49:36it felt like a betrayal.
0:49:36 > 0:49:39I was very much disappointed by the outcome
0:49:39 > 0:49:43of the Malaysian government's decision to let free
0:49:43 > 0:49:46all those North Korean suspects.
0:49:47 > 0:49:50In the past, North Korea was engaged
0:49:50 > 0:49:53in a lot of international terrorist incidents,
0:49:53 > 0:49:56but there was no proof, but this time
0:49:56 > 0:49:59it was a proof and it was shown
0:49:59 > 0:50:02to everyone in the world by CCTV coverage.
0:50:02 > 0:50:09But the outcome of this investigation
0:50:09 > 0:50:12was very disappointing.
0:50:22 > 0:50:25With the North Korean agents off the hook...
0:50:27 > 0:50:30..it left only the two young women facing prosecution.
0:50:33 > 0:50:37When the two women arrive, it was like Mission: Impossible scene.
0:50:38 > 0:50:41Of course everybody just run and scramble for picture.
0:50:41 > 0:50:45And the commandos, they shout at us and ask us to stay where we are.
0:50:45 > 0:50:47I've never seen such thing.
0:50:48 > 0:50:50It's a moment where everybody wants to know
0:50:50 > 0:50:53what is the law that is being applied to them
0:50:53 > 0:50:55and also what is going to happen to them.
0:51:00 > 0:51:03The two women have been charged with murder.
0:51:03 > 0:51:06The trial is set for October.
0:51:06 > 0:51:09If they're found guilty, they will face the death penalty.
0:51:09 > 0:51:12The police believe they have a strong case
0:51:12 > 0:51:15and say they will call more than 30 witnesses.
0:51:17 > 0:51:20But the lawyer for Siti Aisyah believes
0:51:20 > 0:51:22that there cannot be a fair trial.
0:51:23 > 0:51:27This case is somewhat mysterious in many ways
0:51:27 > 0:51:30and also it involves a question of politics.
0:51:30 > 0:51:34Now, nine Malaysians were held hostage in North Korea.
0:51:34 > 0:51:37Now in exchange of those nine hostages,
0:51:37 > 0:51:40four suspects were allowed to go back to Korea.
0:51:40 > 0:51:44Now those four suspects may be very vital to the defence
0:51:44 > 0:51:46and, had they been allowed...
0:51:46 > 0:51:48Now that they have been allowed to go back,
0:51:48 > 0:51:51that would severely compromise the defence case.
0:51:51 > 0:51:53They must allow these two girls to go.
0:51:53 > 0:51:56They should not charge them.
0:51:56 > 0:51:58They should reconsider the case
0:51:58 > 0:52:02because what they have done is you have compromised their defence
0:52:02 > 0:52:05and that would have caused a miscarriage of justice.
0:52:07 > 0:52:12I think that they were duped into taking part
0:52:12 > 0:52:15in something that they may have thought
0:52:15 > 0:52:18may not be completely above board,
0:52:18 > 0:52:20but I don't think they had any idea
0:52:20 > 0:52:22what they were getting themselves into
0:52:22 > 0:52:25and unfortunately they've been left holding the bag.
0:52:46 > 0:52:48Six weeks after the attack,
0:52:48 > 0:52:51the body was finally flown back to North Korea.
0:52:54 > 0:52:58North Korea is still adamant that the dead man was not Kim Jong-nam,
0:52:58 > 0:53:00but a citizen called Kim Chol.
0:53:03 > 0:53:06It's impossible to know how the North Korean regime
0:53:06 > 0:53:09will view the results of this extraordinary operation.
0:53:13 > 0:53:16Of course, that was not completely successful.
0:53:16 > 0:53:20They left behind so many traces of North Korean involvement
0:53:20 > 0:53:23and this will lead to the embarrassment
0:53:23 > 0:53:26both of Malaysia and North Korea, too.
0:53:28 > 0:53:32The operation could have gone smoother.
0:53:32 > 0:53:34I'm sure they wanted to get all the North Korea agents out
0:53:34 > 0:53:38and that was the plan, and that fell apart, and that went wrong.
0:53:38 > 0:53:41So the operation, by no means, was perfect.
0:53:41 > 0:53:42But, at the end of the day,
0:53:42 > 0:53:45Kim Jong-nam is dead and Kim Jong-un made a point -
0:53:45 > 0:53:47that no-one is safe.
0:53:51 > 0:53:55The mission was a success in the fact that they killed Kim Jong-nam.
0:53:55 > 0:53:58None of the North Korean nationals implicated in this assassination
0:53:58 > 0:54:01has been brought for criminal charges.
0:54:02 > 0:54:05People that say that this was a botched job
0:54:05 > 0:54:09are not thinking like North Korean intelligence operatives.
0:54:09 > 0:54:11They're not thinking like killers.
0:54:12 > 0:54:17North Korea recently launched an intercontinental ballistic missile
0:54:17 > 0:54:19that they claim could hit mainland USA.
0:54:19 > 0:54:23Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest
0:54:23 > 0:54:25for more than 50 years.
0:54:26 > 0:54:27In the midst of this crisis,
0:54:27 > 0:54:32the assassination of Kim Jong-nam angered both China and Malaysia.
0:54:33 > 0:54:35So why did it happen?
0:54:37 > 0:54:40He text me a message saying, "I'll see you in Geneva.
0:54:40 > 0:54:41"I'll be back in three days."
0:54:41 > 0:54:44He was like coming back to Geneva to...
0:54:44 > 0:54:47search back all his youth,
0:54:47 > 0:54:49like part of a time where we had
0:54:49 > 0:54:51nothing to think about,
0:54:51 > 0:54:52nothing to be afraid of.
0:54:52 > 0:54:57Kim Jong-nam told his school friends that he wanted to move to Europe
0:54:57 > 0:54:59and become a European citizen,
0:54:59 > 0:55:02in other words, to defect to the West.
0:55:02 > 0:55:05I think he let his guard down somewhat in Europe.
0:55:05 > 0:55:07He felt more safe and more secure here,
0:55:07 > 0:55:09especially in Switzerland. Was he worried?
0:55:11 > 0:55:13Yeah, would he be talking about moving to Europe
0:55:13 > 0:55:15if he wasn't slightly worried? Probably.
0:55:15 > 0:55:18It's not easy to live the life he lives.
0:55:18 > 0:55:20OK, maybe he had a bit of money -
0:55:20 > 0:55:22we don't even know how much he had -
0:55:22 > 0:55:24he was very secretive about it.
0:55:24 > 0:55:26But money is not everything.
0:55:26 > 0:55:29I mean, if you cannot live freely your life,
0:55:29 > 0:55:33then...I'm sure that something breaks inside of you.
0:55:35 > 0:55:39Moving to Europe would have been a final break with the regime.
0:55:42 > 0:55:45As North Korea's most high-profile defector,
0:55:45 > 0:55:48Kim would become an intolerable threat to his half brother.
0:55:48 > 0:55:51From foreign intelligence service's perspective,
0:55:51 > 0:55:53this is somebody that you want to get to know,
0:55:53 > 0:55:57so I am sure CIA would have tried very hard
0:55:57 > 0:56:00to recruit him and they may have recruited him.
0:56:00 > 0:56:03Ultimately, I think Kim Jong-un was afraid that,
0:56:03 > 0:56:07should hostile powers, like United States or maybe even China,
0:56:07 > 0:56:10one day want to have a change in regime,
0:56:10 > 0:56:13that they could put Kim Jong-nam
0:56:13 > 0:56:15as head of that new leadership in North Korea
0:56:15 > 0:56:18because, of course, Kim Jong-nam has legitimacy.
0:57:04 > 0:57:06He would have been a fundamentally different leader.
0:57:06 > 0:57:09I think it would have been possible for him to carry out reform
0:57:09 > 0:57:11and change North Korea.
0:57:11 > 0:57:13Give up nuclear weapons.
0:57:13 > 0:57:15North Korea's fate, for the people, for the country,
0:57:15 > 0:57:18would have been better certainly under Kim Jong-nam.
0:57:22 > 0:57:27The present leader eliminated one possible source of threat
0:57:27 > 0:57:32to his throne, but I do not believe that makes his throne
0:57:32 > 0:57:34more stable or secure.
0:57:36 > 0:57:42One of the curses of a tyrant is that you actually never feel secure
0:57:42 > 0:57:44in the position of power.
0:57:51 > 0:57:54With the threat from his older brother removed,
0:57:54 > 0:57:58Kim Jong-un may now feel more secure on his throne,
0:57:58 > 0:58:02but the Kim family tree still has many branches.
0:58:03 > 0:58:07My name is Kim Han-sol...
0:58:07 > 0:58:08from North Korea.
0:58:08 > 0:58:10Part of the Kim family.
0:58:10 > 0:58:12Here's my passport.
0:58:14 > 0:58:17Just three weeks after Kim Jong-nam's death,
0:58:17 > 0:58:21this mysterious video was posted by a previously unknown group.
0:58:22 > 0:58:24It shows his oldest son.
0:58:26 > 0:58:29It shows that he's safe and it shows that he's alive.
0:58:29 > 0:58:31Um...and that, you know,
0:58:31 > 0:58:35he could be a shadow darkening Kim Jong-un's doorway at some point.
0:58:35 > 0:58:37We hope...
0:58:37 > 0:58:39We hope this gets better soon, yeah.