WSJ: Kim Jong Un’s Murdered Half Brother Was A CIA Source

FILE - This May 4, 2001, file photo shows Kim Jong Nam, exiled half-brother of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, in Narita, Japan. Kim Jong Nam, 46, was assassinated Monday, Feb. 14, 2017, in a shopping concourse at ... FILE - This May 4, 2001, file photo shows Kim Jong Nam, exiled half-brother of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, in Narita, Japan. Kim Jong Nam, 46, was assassinated Monday, Feb. 14, 2017, in a shopping concourse at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia, according to a Malaysian government official. (AP Photos/Shizuo Kambayashi, File) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s half brother, who was murdered in an airport in Malaysia in 2017, was a CIA source, according to the Wall Street Journal. 

Kim Jong Nam reportedly met with agency operatives multiple times. He was on the way to meet one of them when two women smeared a nerve agent in his face, killing him.

After his murder, North Korean dissidents rushed his son, Kim Han Sol, and other family members out of Macau and into hiding, where they remain.

It is unclear the caliber of information Kim Jong Nam could share with American intelligence, as he lived outside of North Korea in exile and had fallen from his father’s favor in the early 2000s.

Latest News

Notable Replies

  1. Fun facts:

    1. Kim Jong Un’s brother was a CIA source
    2. He was killed by Kim Jong Un
    3. Trump repeatedly criticized CIA and praised Kim Jong Un
  2. Yup.

    Nothing to see here, just move along. /s

  3. There were good brothers on both sides.

  4. Intelligence work is dangerous.

    Kim Philby intercepted and killed the agent who was going to out him as a KGB mole in Istanbul. The KGB disseminated images of the execution of the assets Aldrich Ames gave up as a warning to those who might consider taking their place.

    A bullet can come from any direction in that world.

  5. So when did Trump inform KJU of this situation? I’m guessing just before the assassination.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

18 more replies

Participants

Avatar for system1 Avatar for paulw Avatar for pluckyinky Avatar for msaroff Avatar for gr Avatar for arc_of_the_universe Avatar for billymac Avatar for established_1781 Avatar for jacksonhts Avatar for lizzymom Avatar for castor_troy Avatar for maximus Avatar for txlawyer Avatar for mattfrommich Avatar for anothertpmreader Avatar for hardyweinberg Avatar for ANNFFL

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: