KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — A high-level defector says he's certain North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was behind Kim Jong Nam's death.
Thae Yong Ho told reporters from Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV that it was unthinkable that Kim Jong Un would not have approved of the high-profile assassination of his half brother.
In the report broadcast Thursday from Seoul, Thae says "North Korea is a society ruled in terror. For a big decision like killing Kim Jong Nam, no one could make a decision like that except Kim Jong Un."
Thae was the former deputy head of the North Korean Embassy in London until last year, when he fled to SouthKorea, becoming the most senior diplomat to switch sides.
He added that he was "not afraid of terrifying threats (from North Korea). I have to be in public."