KUALA LUMPUR, March 16 — The family of the murdered Kim Jong-nam will allow Malaysia to determine what to do with his body, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam.

Due to the criminal nature of Kim’s death, however, Dr Subramaniam said the determination cannot be made by his ministry.

“The decisions have to come from the police because this is a medico-legal case; we follow whatever decision that has been made. Now as we have said that we want the next of kin, by normal procedure to claim the body.

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“But as they have given instructions to the police on how to manage the body, and the police feel that the instructions given is sufficient from a legal point of view, then the police will give us instructions what to do,” he told reporters at the Parliament lobby today.

Deputy Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Noor Rashid Ibrahim earlier confirmed that Kim's family has left the treatment of his body to Malaysia.

Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was allegedly assassinated using the VX nerve agent here on February 13.

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His body remains in the Hospital Kuala Lumpur mortuary, but was embalmed last weekend.

Pyongyang has repeatedly sought custody of the body, but Malaysia has so far refused to release it to anyone other than Jong-nam's family.