Malaysian police arrested a second woman Thursday in the death of Kim Jong Nam, the half brother of North Korea's leader who was reportedly poisoned this week by two female assassins as he waited for a flight in Malaysia.
Police chief Khalid Abu Bakar confirmed the latest arrest to the national Bernama news agency and said a statement would be released soon.
Investigators are trying to shed light on a death that set off set off waves of speculation over whether North Korea dispatched a hit squad to kill a man known for his drinking, gambling and complicated family life.
Medical workers completed an autopsy late Wednesday, but it was not immediately clear if or when Malaysia would release the findings publicly.
North Korea had objected to the autopsy and asked for Kim Jong Nam's body to be returned; Malaysia went ahead with the procedure anyway as the North did not submit a formal protest, said Abdul Samah Mat, a senior Malaysian police official.
Also Wednesday, police arrested the first suspect in the case, a woman carrying Vietnamese travel documents bearing the name Doan Thi Huong. She was picked up at the budget terminal of Kuala Lumpur International Airport, where Kim Jong Nam fell ill on Monday morning. It was not immediately clear whether the passport was genuine.
She was identified using earlier surveillance video from the airport, police said.