Page 10 - ARUBA TODAY

A10 WORLD NEWS
Thursday 16 February 2017
Malaysian police: Woman arrested in the killing of Mongolia nationalizes a mine;

North Korean leader’s half brother, Kim Jong Nam prompts warning on investors

EILEEN NG diplomacy, the elder Kim attacked. It was not imme-
Associated Press died en route to a hospital diately clear whether the GRACE BROWN style communist rule in the
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia on Monday after suddenly passport was genuine. She Associated Press early 1990s, when Mongo-
(AP) — Malaysian police ar- falling ill at the budget ter- was identified using earlier ULAANBAATAR, Mongo- lia sold off state assets.
rested a woman Wednes- minal of Kuala Lumpur In- surveillance video from the lia (AP) — Mongolian Approval of the Erdenet
day in the apparent assas- ternational Airport. airport, police said. lawmakers have told the sale was announced June
sination of Kim Jong Nam, He told medical workers Still photos of the video, government to revoke a 28 by then-Prime Minister
the North Korean leader’s before he died that he confirmed as authentic by private company’s pur- Chimediin Saikhanbileg.
exiled half brother who had been attacked with police, showed a woman chase of a stake in a major But the next day, his Dem-
South Korean spies say a chemical spray, the Ma- in a skirt and long-sleeved copper mine, a move the ocratic Party lost control
once begged his sibling to laysian officials said. Mul- white T-shirt with “LOL” president warned could of parliament to the rival
spare his life. tiple South Korean media across the front. scare away investors at a Mongolian People’s Party
The astonishing killing, reports, citing unidentified Police said they were hunt- time when the economy is in national elections.
which reportedly came at sources, said two women ing for more suspects. No already struggling. It was unclear whether
The move highlights the Erdenebat was obliged
political sensitivity of Mon- to act on parliament’s
golia’s copper, gold and demand, but President
other mineral wealth, the Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, a
source of more than 90 Democratic Party mem-
percent of the North Asian ber, warned the vote
country’s export revenues. might hurt the economy.
Legislators approved a “The resolution could
resolution Friday calling drive away foreign inves-
on Prime Minister Jargal- tors and entrepreneurs”
tulgyn Erdenebat to re- and “further isolate Mon-
voke a Mongolian inves- golia,” Elbegdorj said in a
tor’s $400 million purchase statement.
of a Russian state com- Still, Elbegdorj said au-
pany’s 49 percent stake in thorities should root out
Erdenet Mining Corp. the “hidden and illegal
They want the govern- business operations” of
ment, which owns the Erdenet.
rest of Erdenet, to take full Earlier, global miner Rio
control. Tinto Ltd. delayed devel-
Complaints that too little opment of a gold and
of Mongolia’s abundant copper mine, Oyu Tolgoi,
mineral wealth makes its due to disagreements
way to the poor majority over revenue sharing and
have long complicated the foreign role in mining.
the role played by foreign After that dispute was set-
This combination of file photos shows Kim Jong Nam, left, exiled half-brother of North Korea’s mining companies. tled, Rio Tinto announced
leader Kim Jong Un, in Narita, Japan, on May 4, 2001, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Weak global demand last May it was ready to go
May 9, 2016, in Pyongyang, North Korea. Kim Jong Nam, 46, was targeted Monday, Feb. 13, 2017, for Mongolia’s minerals ahead with a $5.3 billion
in a shopping concourse at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia, and died on the way to dragged down growth to expansion. Saikhanbileg
the hospital, according to a Malaysian government official. a 1.6 percent contraction said that showed Mongo-
(AP Photos/S. Kambayashi, W. Maye-E) in the latest quarter, add- lia was “back to business.”
ing to those pressures. Erdenet, Mongolian for
the hands of two female believed to be North Ko- further details were re- Mongolia’s national debt “Treasure,” operates a
assassins, set off waves of rean agents killed him with leased. stands at about $23 billion, mining complex about
speculation over wheth- some kind of poison before Since taking power in late or twice the annual eco- 150 miles (240 kilometers)
er North Korea had dis- fleeing in a taxi. 2011, Kim Jong Un has ex- nomic output, and a $580 northwest of the capital,
patched a hit squad to kill Malaysia started an au- ecuted or purged a num- million payment to foreign Ulan Bator. Until last year’s
a man known for his drink- topsy Wednesday to deter- ber of high-level govern- bondholders is due March sale, it was one of Russia’s
ing, gambling and compli- mine the cause of death. ment officials in what the 21. Mongolian leaders are biggest assets in Mongo-
cated family life. But a Malaysian govern- South Korean government deciding whether to pur- lia.
Kim Jong Nam, who was ment official, who also has described as a “reign sue a potential emergen- Controversy over the sale
45 or 46, was estranged demanded anonymity of terror.” cy loan from the Interna- was fueled by complaints
from his younger brother, because of the case’s sen- South Korea’s spy agency, tional Monetary Fund. a Mongolian bank, Trade
North Korean leader Kim sitivity, said North Korea ob- the National Intelligence Last week’s vote followed Development Bank LLC,
Jong Un, and had been jected to the procedure Service, said Wednesday a change of government was the real buyer and
living abroad for years. He because they wanted the that North Korea had been in June elections and a violated lending rules by
reportedly fell out of favor body back. But the Malay- trying for five years to kill parliamentary inquiry that financing the acquisition.
when he was caught trying sian official said the autop- Kim Jong Nam. The NIS did concluded the real buyer The purchase was led by
to enter Japan on a false sy was still continuing. not definitively say that was a Mongolian bank a 28-year-old lawyer, Tsooj
passport in 2001, saying he Also Wednesday, Ma- North Korea was behind that violated lending Purevtuvshin, owner of
wanted to visit Tokyo Dis- laysian police arrested the killing, just that it was rules by hiding how much Mongolian Copper Corp.
neyland. a woman carrying Viet- presumed to be a North money it put up. It was the Purevtuvshin, also known
According to two senior namese travel documents Korean operation, ac- first time parliament has by the nickname Tush,
Malaysian government offi- bearing the name Doan Thi cording to lawmakers who called for the government said MCC bought Erdenet
cials, who spoke on condi- Huong at the Kuala Lumpur briefed reporters about the to take over a company using financing from a
tion of anonymity because airport budget terminal, closed-door meeting with since the end of Soviet- group of investors.q
the case involves sensitive where Kim Jong Nam was the spy officials. q