Mysterious Murder of Kim Jong-nam

Kim Jong-nam traveled between Macau, China and Paris

The news of the murder of Kim Jong-un's half-brother on Monday is shocking news, and now three suspects have been arrested.

One woman carrying a Vietnamese passport was arrested yesterday. She was seen on CCTV footage at Kuala Lumpur International Airport wearing a white long-sleeved shirt with "LOL" on it, and a long skirt.

CCTV footage of one of the women who was arrested

Is she trying to be ironic?

The other two are an Indonesian woman and Malaysian man.

Kim Jong-nam, 45, was attacked at in the shopping area of the airport before he passed through immigration. There are still questions over what exactly happened -- one story is that two women put a sheet over his head that had poisonous chemicals on it, another is that poisonous darts were shot at him.

But many believe North Korea was behind the assassination, demonstrating Kim Jong-un's undisputed power in eliminating any other critics and rivals in his way.

According to Kim Jong-nam's friends in Macau who knew him as "John", he didn't speak much about the regime in North Korea, but knew he was living on borrowed time, as there had been assassination attempts on him before.

It is believed Kim's son in his early 20s, daughter and wife all live in Macau.

Kim Jong-nam (right) with his father Kim Jong-il

As the oldest son, Kim was believed to be the potential heir to Kim Jong-il, but after he entered Japan illegally to visit Disneyland in 2001 on a false Dominican Republic passport, his prospects ended.

Kim never contested his younger half brother for the leadership, and instead moved to Macau. According to his friend, Kim traveled between Macau, China and Paris, where he liked French wines and food.

Before moving to Macau, Kim had reportedly held senior posts in the Pyongyang government, working in information technology and domestic intelligence.

"He didn't talk much about his brother or the regime, although sometimes he would crack jokes about it," Kim's friend says. "He was mostly reserved in that regard. He never hid that he had some political aspirations. He did not want to succeed his father and he did not agree with his brother's regime, but I think he hoped one day he could play some political role in his country."

The following days and months will reveal more about the autopsy results of the body and perhaps more on why and how Kim was murdered. And to do the dirty deed in another country raises many diplomatic issues...

Running for a Reason

People trying to find their names on the wall. Mine's there... somewhere...

This afternoon I picked up my runner's kit for the Standard Chartered Marathon next weekend. I'm not running 42km, but just under one-quarter of it (10K). While I've made great strides in fighting my cold in the last few days, I don't know if I'll be 100 percent for race day. Oh well!

Interesting that at the entrance to the area to claim the running kits, a gweilo was handing out small sheets of paper. Turns out it was to notify runners that the second ever Pyongyang International Marathon will take place April 12 this year, with the full marathon, half marathon and 10K.

Look! The green T-Rex wins the marathon!

"This is a unique opportunity to be part of history and to run in one of the world's most secretive and fascinating countries," the flyer says. Wonder how many people will be intrigued enough to sign up.

After collecting the kit, I quickly wandered the area where sponsors set up booths, and aside from the massive lineups to test people's fitness or play games to win prizes, there were Lego creations interpreting the upcoming marathon.

Perhaps the best one was having the green dinosaur from Toy Story winning the race...

A splash of yellow and umbrella logo to add to the race...

But also leaving Victoria Park, there were some men holding up plastic bags with a yellow wrist band and a sticker saying "I want genuine universal suffrage" with umbrella decals. They handed them out to anyone interested.

Wonder how many people will be wearing these paraphernalia next Sunday...

Shock and Awe

Picture of Jang Song-thak at his military tribunal after which he was executed

We are shocked to read about the demise of Jang Song-thaek, uncle of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Jang was reported executed for treason after a military trial in which he was found guilt of treason.

The military tribunal described the 67-year-old as "despicable human scum who was worse than a dog who perpetuated cursed acts of treachery".

During the trial, Jang, who is married to Kim Jong-un's aunt, was reported by Korean Central News Agency as saying that he attempted to stage a coup d'etat by mobilizing his associates in the military.

"I attempted to stir up complaints among the people and the military that even as the country's economic situation and people's livelihood are in dire situation, the current regime fails to deal with it," he was quoted as saying.

Jang's downfall was apparent earlier this week

On Monday there were images of Jang being pulled out of his chair by uniformed officers at a meeting in Pyongyang. At the time KCNA also accused Jang of taking drugs and squandering money at casinos while having medical treatment abroad.

The news agency added he also had "improper relations with several women and was wined and dined in the back parlours of deluxe restaurants".

KCNA continued the narrative of the coup, saying Jang bided his time when he was under Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, but now "he began to reveal his true colours, thinking that it was just the time for him to realize his wild ambition in the period of historic turn when the generation of the revolution was replaced," it said.'

The swift death of Jang is Kim Jong-un's bid to consolidate his power and to set his uncle as an example of what happens to people allegedly convicted as traitors to the state.

The news is shocking to everyone in the region, particularly South Korea, but also China, which depended on Jang as a dependable liaison. But now he's literally gone and Beijing is further losing its influence that the United States hoped could help ease tensions.

But now things are thrown into further disarray and it'll take a while for the dust to settle before we figure out what's really going on in the hermit kingdom...