SHORTLY after the murder of Kim Jong-nam on February 13 at klia2, the North Korean regime began targeting his son, Kim Han-sol, reports The Wall Street Journal, ahead of the father’s murder trial in Shah Alam today.

However, North Korean dissidents belonging to a secretive group called Cheollima Civil Defence whisked Han-sol, 21, and his mother and sister to safety from their Macau base.

The Kim family are now living in an unidentified country.

Cheollima has agreed to speak to a media organisation for the first time, said WSJ, on the trio’s flight to safety shortly after Jong-nam’s murder at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2.

Jong-nam’s half-brother, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, is accused of ordering the murder to safeguard the Kim dynasty. Jong-un also allegedly executed his uncle, Jang Song Thaek, in 2013 for building a rival power base.

Han-sol, his mother and sister first flew to Taipei where they spent a tense 30 hours in the airport trying to confirm travel and visas for a final destination, a source told WSJ.

Cheollima said the United States, China and the Netherlands provided assistance with travel, visas or other aspects of the plan.

Cheollima is one of several groups helping those seeking to escape the Kim Jong-un regime and is made up of those inside and outside the country. The organisation has helped North Koreans defectors escape through China and into Southeast Asia.

Jong-nam’s family contacted the group directly soon after his killing and on March 7, the group released a video of Han-sol with his passport and confirming he was safe with his mother and sister.

The Jong-nam murder trial begins today in Shah Alam. Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong and Indonesian Siti Aishah are charged with the murder. – October 2, 2017.