Jong-nam's body was embalmed, says Zahid

KUALA LUMPUR: The Home Minister has confirmed that the body of deceased North Korean Kim Jong-nam was embalmed to better preserve it.

Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (pic) told reporters in Parliament on Tuesday that the body was taken out of Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) for the procedure.

"Yes it is true. It is an effort to preserve the body.

"Because if it was kept in the mortuary, the body might decompose so we did this to preserve the body," said Dr Ahmad Zahid, who is also Deputy Prime Minister.

It has been one month since the death of the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Feb 13.

Jong-nam, who was poisoned by two women at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2), died on his way to Putrajaya Hospital.

His body was since been moved to HKL and underwent a postmortem.

On Saturday, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar confirmed that the body was indeed that Jong-nam's.