North Korean murder suspects sent home with body of victim

Passengers believed to be North Koreans including Kim Uk Il (L) are seen inside an airplane for the flight bound for Beijing, at an airport in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, in this photo taken by Kyodo March 30, 2017. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via REUTERS

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Two, possibly three, North Koreans wanted for questioning over the murder of the estranged half-brother of their country's leader were believed to have accompanied the coffin of the victim on a flight from Kuala Lumpur after Malaysia agreed a swap deal with the reclusive state.

Photographs obtained by Reuters from Japan's Kyodo news agency show Hyon Kwang Song, the second secretary at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur, and Kim Uk Il, a staff member of North Korea’s state airline Air Koryo were on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on Thursday evening.