North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s nephew was taken into protective custody by the CIA three years ago a few days after his father was murdered with a nerve agent, according to a report in the New Yorker.
Free Joseon, a group trying to topple Un’s dictatorship, told the publication that Kim Han-sol fled with his mother and sister after realizing that their police guard had vanished following the murder of his father, Kim Jong-nam, in Malaysia and sought the help of Free Joseon.
Free Joseon’s New York-based leader Adrian Hong told the New Yorker that he had “never met a kid with so much money,” because Kim Jong-nam had “stashed away a lot of cash during his life.”
After fleeing, Han-sol and his family spent an entire day in a Tapei airport lounge with a Free Joseon agent who attempted to convince at least three nations to take them in.
According to the report, the family’s flight to the Netherlands, which had apparently been arranged, was prevented when the ticket agent did not allow them to board, and an hour later the family was approached by two men who said they were CIA officers.
Free Joseon said the last known sighting of Han-sol was a short video the group took of him thanking them for their help before boarding the flight, but then the CIA agents reportedly took him and his family to another unknown destination.
The CIA refused to comment to the New Yorker about the story.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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