PUTRAJAYA: Police have obtained an Interpol red notice for the arrest of four North Koreans believed to be involved in the killing of Kim Jong-nam, said Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar.

 “We have obtained the red notice for the four North Korean men who were at the airport during the incident.

 “We believe they have since left for Pyongyang. We are hoping to get them through Interpol,” he told reporters at a function here on Thursday.

An Interpol red notice is effectively an international arrest warrant.

Interpol circulates notices to member countries listing persons who are wanted for extradition.

The four North Koreans sought are Rhi Ji-hyon, 33, Hong Song-hac, 34, O Jong-gil, 55, and Ri Jae-nam, 57.

The four entered the country separately days before the incident on Feb 13 and left for Jakarta from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2) just after Jong-nam’s assassination.

Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was killed at KLIA2 with what police have confirmed as the VX nerve agent.

Khalid also reiterated that the police had handed Jong-nam’s body to the Health Ministry.

”We will leave it to the Health Ministry and Wisma Putra to deal with the issue of the body,” he said.

Two women – Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong and Indonesian Siti Aisyah – were charged with Jong-nam’s murder on March 1.