Diplomatic passport was in name of one Kim Chol

PETALING JAYA: Are Kim Chol and Kim Jong-nam one and the same?

Like any intriguing tale of espionage, Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was believed to have entered Malaysia using a diplomatic passport under the name of Kim Chol.

And since it was a diplomatic passport, a source said that the holder was not required to undergo biometrics check at the immigration when he entered Malaysia.

It was a valid travel document, the source told The Star.

The passport with the number 8364100 carried the name of a North Korean named Kim Chol, the source said.

“According to records, Kim Chol entered the country on Feb 6. Based on the travel document, it was his first entry into Malaysia,” said the source.

He said that it could not be verified for now whether Kim Chol the passport holder was indeed Jong-nam.

The source said that a North Korean national named “Kim Jong-nam” had entered Malaysia before.

Records showed that this “Kim Jong-nam” was born on Feb 27, 1986; not May 10, 1971 which was the date of Jong-nam’s birth, the source said.

“The 31-year-old Kim Jong-nam had entered the country and left on Aug 12, 2016. Maybe this is another Kim Jong-nam as his date of birth is not the same,” said the source.

Jong-nam, widely believed to have been assassinated at KLIA2 on Monday morning, was said to have used a passport under the name of Kim Chol.