Palinurus said:
This story is up on SOTT now (RT-version):
https://www.sott.net/article/344748-Man-claiming-to-be-Kim-Jong-nams-son-records-video-address
I have a feeling, that we might see more of Kim Han-sol in the future. He seems like "a bright and down to earth" kind of individual? In this article, he states his Father had no interest in Politics, so he wasn't a threat to his half Brother in power, Kim Jong-un. What the motive for Kim Jong-nam's assassination is, I have no clue but his Son, Kim Han-sol is in direct line to be heir? If the Dutch, have indeed, given the family safe haven and protection, it may work out to their benefit in the future?
Who is Kim Han-Sol, son of slain Kim Jong-nam and heir to North Korean regime?
https://www.yahoo.com/news/kim-han-sol-son-slain-135028136.html
The son of Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korean ruler Kim Jong-un assassinated in Malaysia on 13 February, made a rare video appearance, speaking publicly for the first time since his father's death.
The video was published on 7 March by the Cheollima Civil Defense, an organisation that focuses on rescuing North Korean defectors and refugees, and appeared to show
the 21-year-old, who identified himself as "Kim Han-sol from North Korea, part of the Kim family".
Who is Kim Han-sol?
Kim Han-sol first attracted international attention when he moved to Bosnia to study at the United World College in Mostar, an international boarding school offering a multicultural learning environment and a mission to create a peaceful and sustainable future. He was the first North Korean student to attend the school, and indeed one of the first members of the secretive North Korean ruling family to be interviewed in Western media.
Speaking to Finnish broadcaster YLE in 2012, Kim Han-sol talked about his life, his relationship to his family and his hopes for the future.
Born in North Korea, he said he lived an ordinary yet isolated life in the country, until he moved to Macau after his father, who had been tipped to be the first in line to Kim Jong-il succession, reportedly fell out of favour with the regime after attempting to enter Japan to visit Disneyland with a fake passport in 2011. He would still come back to North Korea to visit his relatives, presumably his mother's family as he said he never met his paternal grandfather.
At his school in Macau he met people from other countries, including the US and South Korea, which sparked a desire about seeing more of the world and leaving Macau to study elsewhere. After graduating from UWC Mostar, Kim Han-sol moved to France in 2013 to study for a Bachelor degree in social science at the Sciences Po campus of Le Havre, where students follow the Europe-Asia programme. Following the assassination of Kim Jong-un's uncle Jang Song-thaek, Kim Han-sol was assigned police protection and asked journalists to leave him alone, as reported by South Korean media.
Where is Kim Han-sol now?
His current whereabouts are unknown. South Korean intelligence officers said they believe his family where living until recently in Macau under Chinese government protection, the New York Times reported.
In the video posted by the Cheollima Civil Defense, Kim Han-sol said he is with his mother and sister. The group said they assisted the three family members to relocate them to safety, but that the family's whereabouts will not be addressed. In a statement, the group thanks the governments of the Netherlands, China, the US and a fourth, unnamed one, for the support received in helping the family.
According to British tabloids, Kim Han-sol was admitted to Oxford University to further his education, but had to turn down the offer after his father's assassination. In the 2012 interview, Kim Han-sol said that after completing his studies, he was going to focus on volunteering and peace-building projects. "I have always dreamed one day I will go back and make things better, make it easier for all the people there," he told the interviewer.
What does Kim Han-sol think of Kim Jong-un?
Kim Han-sol said in the 2012 interview he never met neither neither his grandfather Kim Jong-il nor Kim Jong-un, who succeeded him as the country's supreme leader after his death in December 2011.
In fact, he hardly even know who his paternal grandfather was and only understood later in life he was North Korea's ruler, after piecing together conversations his parents had. "I really did not know if he knew I existed". Kim Han-sol said he was living the life of an ordinary citizen in North Korea, before the family left the country to live in Macau. "My dad was definitely not really interested in politics. I really don't know how he [Kim Jong-un] became a dictator ... It was between him and my grandfather," he added.
He expressed a strong desire for the reunification of the country. "I also dream of reunification because it's really sad that I can't go to the other side [South Korea] and see my friends there."
He added: "It is just political issues that divide the nation in half."
[...] There was no indication where or precisely when the video was made.
Son of Kim Jong Nam breaks family’s silence on assassination
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/03/08/asia-pacific/son-kim-jong-nam-breaks-familys-silence-assassination/#.WMGx3f4zUdW
Han Sol, 21, is believed to have graduated from Sciences Po university in Paris and had been living in exile with his parents in the Chinese territory of Macau before he disappeared with his mother and sister following his father’s death.
Because of his bloodline, Han Sol could be seen as a rival figurehead in a state that is ruled by his uncle Kim Jong Un and is roiled by bloody purges.
Malaysia has yet to formally identify the dead man as Kim or release the body, with police saying they are waiting for next of kin to come forward and provide a DNA sample.
On its website — registered only Saturday — CCD said that it was protecting Kim’s family.
“Cheollima Civil Defense responded last month to an emergency request by survivors of the family of Kim Jong Nam for extraction and protection. The three family members were met quickly and relocated to safety,” it said in English.
“We have in the past addressed other urgent needs for protection,” it asserted. “This will be the first and last statement on this particular matter, and the present whereabouts of this family will not be addressed.”
The group thanked countries “for the emergency humanitarian assistance afforded to us in protecting this family,” including the Netherlands, China and the United States, plus an unspecified fourth government.
It praised the Dutch ambassador to South Korea, Lody Embrechts, in particular “for his timely and strong response to our sudden request for assistance,” calling him “a credit to the people of the Netherlands and their long and principled stance for human rights and humanitarian norms.”
Neither the Netherlands Embassy in Seoul nor CCD could be reached for comment.
“Cheollima” is a mythical winged horse originating in ancient Chinese myths. CCD uses South Korean transliteration for the word, and some of the Korean text on its website reads as if it may have been translated from English.
Kim Sung Min, a high-profile defector who operates an anti-Pyongyang radio station, said the group appears to be associated with activists based in the United States.
South Koreans left messages of encouragement for Han Sol on YouTube, with some inviting him to defect to the South.
“It must have been very painful for him when he said ‘my father has been killed,’ ” wrote one user.
Another said: “Be safe. You’re important to us, and to our future as a divided nation.”
KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s prime minister said Wednesday that relatives of Kim Jong Nam, the long-exiled half brother of North Korea’s ruler, may be too scared to come forward to provide DNA samples following his mysterious poisoning death in a crowded airport terminal in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysian leader says Kim Jong Nam family may be scared to come forward
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/03/08/asia-pacific/malaysian-leader-says-kim-jong-nam-family-may-scared-come-forward/#.WMG0bf4zUdU
Prime Minister Najib Razak spoke a day after a stunning breakdown in diplomatic ties between Malaysia and North Korea over the investigation into Kim’s death on Feb. 13. Najib said his country still wants to negotiate with Pyongyang despite the increasingly bitter dispute.
“This is (a) sensitive matter, best conducted in secrecy,” he said, adding that authorities are still trying to get DNA samples from Kim’s immediate family to formally identify his body.
Maybe they are scared to come forward,” Najib said.
Two women swiped Kim’s face with VX nerve agent as he waited for a flight home to Macau last month, Malaysian authorities say. The investigation has infuriated North Korea, which has dismissed the inquiry as politically motivated.
Many speculate that North Korea somehow orchestrated the attack, which it denies. Malaysia has never directly accused Pyongyang of being behind the hit.
The dispute took a surprising turn on Tuesday, when North Korea announced that it was blocking all Malaysians from leaving the country until a “fair settlement” of the case.
Malaysia responded in kind and barred North Koreans from exiting its soil.
Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said Wednesday that Malaysia is willing to negotiate.
“So far, we believe they are going to act rationally,” he said. “We believe what is important for us is to maintain our diplomatic relationship with them because I think what is important is the safety of our citizens in Pyongyang.”
Najib has denounced North Korea’s order as “an abhorrent act, effectively holding our citizens hostage” and a violation of international law.
“I can’t think of anything like this” happening for years, Lalit Mansingh, a New Delhi-based scholar and longtime top Indian diplomat, said of North Korea’s directive. “This is way out of normal diplomatic practice.”
But North Korea has a long history of surprising the international community.
“It’s the North Korean way of doing things — dramatic, intimidating gestures and then waiting for the other side to plead for some concessions,” said Leszek Buszynski, a national security scholar at the Australian National University who has written extensively on North Korean diplomacy.
Officials in Kuala Lumpur say there are 11 Malaysians currently in North Korea: three working at the embassy, two U.N. employees and six family members. About 1,000 North Koreans are believed to be in Malaysia, until recently one of the few countries where North Koreans could travel without a visa.
North Korea’s surprise order came Tuesday morning, when the official Korean Central News Agency said the country was banning Malaysians from leaving “until the safety of the diplomats and citizens of (North Korea) in Malaysia is fully guaranteed through the fair settlement of the case.”
It was not clear, however, what would constitute a “fair settlement.”
North Korea said Malaysia’s diplomats and citizens “may work and live normally” during the temporary exit ban.
Malaysia is searching for seven North Korean suspects in connection with Kim’s assassination, including a North Korean diplomat. Police say three suspects are believed to be in hiding at the North Korean Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, a hulking concrete mansion behind a wall streaked with water stains.
National police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said Malaysia would not raid the embassy, which is protected under diplomatic law, but would wait for the suspects to emerge.
“We will wait. We will wait, and if it takes five years we will wait outside. Definitely somebody will come out,” Khalid said.
Malaysia has said the two women who poisoned Kim were recruited by a team of North Koreans. A Malaysian autopsy found that Kim was killed with VX, a nerve agent and banned chemical weapon that causes convulsions and leaves victims unable to breathe. North Korea is widely believed to possess large quantities of chemical weapons, including VX.
The women, one from Vietnam and the other from Indonesia, were quickly caught and have been charged with murder. Both say they were duped into thinking they were playing a harmless prank.
Custody of the body has become a flash point. Malaysia says it needs to conduct DNA tests to formally identify the body, but North Korea says it has no right to keep the body of a North Korean citizen.
Kim, who was in his mid-40s, had lived abroad for years and had reportedly never met younger half brother, North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un.