Kim Jong-nam's body will not be released to North Korea without family DNA sample, says Malaysia

Warning comes after post-mortem was carried out despite North Korea’s request body be released immediately without one

Police officers patrol outside the forensic department at Kuala Lumpur Hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Daniel Chan/AP)

Malaysia has said it will only release the body of the North Korean leader’s half-brother Kim Jong-nam on the condition that his family provides a DNA sample.

Police warned that without DNA from a next of kin, they would refuse to hand over the body or release the autopsy report which could reveal the cause of death. Mr Kim died after he was attacked at Kuala Lumpur airport on Monday while waiting to board a flight to Macau.

South Korean authorities believe suspects sprayed or splashed a poisonous liquid into his face, causing him to collapse and die shortly afterwards on the way to hospital.

Three people have been arrested in connection with the death: an Indonesian woman, a woman with Vietnamese identification and a Malaysian man, thought to be the boyfriend of one of the female suspects. Selangor police chief Abdul Samah Mat told AFP: “So far no family member or next of kin has come to identify or claim the body. We need a DNA sample of a family member to match the profile of the dead person.

“North Korea has submitted a request to claim the body but before we release the body we have to identify who the body belongs to.”

Kim Jong-nam is suspected to be the victim of an assassination (Getty) (Getty Images)

A post-mortem examination was carried out at a hospital in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday despite objections from diplomats at the North Korean embassy.

It is not clear when its results will be made public.

Mr Kim was estranged from his younger brother and lived with his wife and two children in Macau on the south coast of China. He had previously spoken out against his family’s dynastic control of North Korea.

A number of South Korean media reports said two female suspects were believed to be North Korean agents working on behalf of Kim Jong-un, although this could not be confirmed.

It emerged on Thursday that prior to his death, Mr Kim had reportedly written a letter to his half-brother pleading with him to withdraw a standing order for his assassination, following an alleged attempt to kill him in 2012.