Criminal investigation

Did Kim Jong-un have his brother killed because he feared he was part of a US-backed coup? Jong-nam was poisoned 'four days after meeting with an American spy in Malaysia

Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, reportedly met with an American spy in Malaysia just four days before he was poisoned. 

CCTV purports to shows the 45-year-old, who was assassinated at Kuala Lumpur airport, with a 'middle-aged Korean-American' man in a hotel lift at the resort island of Langkawi in northern Malaysia on February 9.

Kim, who had allegedly met the contact several times before, stayed in a hotel suite with him for two hours, according to The Asahi Shimbun. 

His computer showed a record of a USB memory stick being inserted into it, which may have been used to pass on crucial information to the suspected US agent, the Asian news outlet reported.

Malaysian authorities speculated that North Korea's secret police became aware of the meeting and decided to silence Kim.