Police unsure about 'suspects hiding at embassy' claim - IGP

"We are not sure if they are hiding at the embassy or not...we are looking for them to help in the investigations. Hopefully, they will come forward," Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar told Bernama when contacted Wednesday.

Foreign media reported that the suspects identified as Hyon Kwang-song, 44, and Kim Uk-il, 37, were thought to be 'hiding' inside the embassy.

The duo, along with a third suspect identified as Ri Ji-u, 30, also known as James, are still believed to be in the country.

The whereabouts of Ji-u is also unknown.

Kwang-song is Second Secretary at the mission and Uk-il is an employee of North Korean airline Koryo Air, Khalid said at an earlier press conference yesterday.

Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, died after being attacked on Feb 13 by two women who reportedly swiped his face with what is believed to be poison.

After the attack, Malaysian police detained four suspects - a woman bearing a Vietnamese passport, an Indonesian woman, a Malaysian man and a North Korean man. The Malaysian was released on police bail.

It was previously reported that police were tracking down seven North Korean suspects - four of whom were said to have fled Malaysia on the day Jong-nam was attacked while waiting for his flight to Macau at the KL International Airport 2 (klia2).

Jong-nam had come to Malaysia on Feb 6 and carried a passport bearing the name of Kim Chol.