A video has emerged of Kim Han Sol, son of the murdered North Korean believed to be Kim Jong Nam.
The video titled KHS Video was uploaded on the YouTube page of a group called Cheollima Civil Defense on Tuesday (Mar 7) which contacted Channel NewsAsia after posting it.
"My name is Kim Han Sol, from North Korea, part of the Kim family," the man says in the video.
"My father has been killed a few days ago. I'm currently with my mother and my sister. We are very grateful to ...," he says, before the audio cuts off. He signs off by saying: "We hope this gets better soon."
South Korea's intelligence agency confirmed the individual on the video is Kim Han Sol.
"The man is indeed Kim Han-Sol," a spokesman for the National Intelligence Service told AFP.
The spokesman declined to give further details, including Kim's current whereabouts or any information about CCD.
In the 40-second video, the man shows his passport as proof of his identity, but his particulars are blacked out.
#Korean expert on #DPRK says the person in the video sent to @SumishaCNA is Kim Han-sol, the son of murdered #KimJongNam. https://t.co/GDPb1BPPp1
— LIM Yun Suk (@yunsukCNA) March 8, 2017
Channel NewsAsia has confirmed with Do Hee Youn, an activist with the Citizens Coalition for Human Rights of Abductees and North Korean Refugees, that the man in the video is Kim Han Sol.
BREAKING: Group called "Cheollima Civil Defense" claims they're protecting #KimJongNam's family. Sent me this video allegedly of Kim Han Sol pic.twitter.com/px7OHteuWx
— Sumisha Naidu (@SumishaCNA) March 7, 2017
The video was also posted on the group's website where it said it was protecting the Kim Jong Nam family.
"Cheollima Civil Defense responded last month to an emergency request by survivors of the family of Kim Jong Nam for extraction and protection. The three family members were met quickly and relocated to safety," the statement on the group's website said.
"We have in the past addressed other urgent needs for protection. This will be the first and last statement on this particular matter, and the present whereabouts of this family will not be addressed."
The group also thanked countries which it claimed helped it provide protection for the Kim Jong Nam family.
"We publicly express our gratitude for the emergency humanitarian assistance afforded to us in protecting this family by the governments of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the People’s Republic of China, the United States of America, and a fourth government to remain unnamed."
When contacted by Channel NewsAsia, Malaysia's police chief said he has not heard of the group.
Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar would not comment when asked if the police were already in touch with Kim Jong Nam's family, but said they have their "own means of contacting the family".
Han-Sol, 21, is believed to have graduated from Sciences Po university in Paris and had been living in exile with his parents in Macau before he disappeared with his mother and sister following the Kim Jong Nam probe.
In view of his bloodline, Han-Sol could be seen as a rival figurehead in a state ruled by his uncle Kim Jong-Un and roiled by bloody purges.
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