Malaysian Health Minister S. Subramaniam on Tuesday confirmed that the body of Kim Jong-nam, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's half-brother who was assassinated here last month, is still in Kuala Lumpur, the media reported.
According to the minister, the body is being kept at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital's National Forensic Institute, the New Straits Times reported.
He denied media reports that the remains have been cremated.
"There have been so much speculations on the whereabouts of the body, but we need to check that with our forensics team."
"As far as I know, the body is still at the hospital's mortuary," he said.
Subramaniam said Kim Jong-nam's body is still under the responsibility of the Health Ministry until it receives advice from the Foreign Ministry and Prime Minister's Office on the next course of action.
"The negotiations between Foreign Ministry and the North Korean government are still ongoing," the New Straits Times quoted him as saying.
"We need to wait for the results from the discussion before we can make any decision on what to do with the body," he added.
It was reported on Sunday that Kim Jong-nam's body had been taken out of the mortuary for a "religious rite".
There were also rumours that the body was taken to the Kuala Lumpur City Call Crematorium.
Kim Jong-nam, 45, was killed when two women smeared a VX nerve agent on his face at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on February 13.
He died while on way to the hospital.
--IANS
ksk/vt
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