The UN expert on human rights in North Korea, Tomas Ojea Quintana [official profile] called Monday for a inquiry by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) [official website] into the death of the estranged brother of North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un [BBC profile]. Kim Jong-nam was assassinated last month in Kuala Lumpur. Quintana urged [press release] that the investigation be transparent, independent and impartial. In recent weeks there has been a growing trend of insinuation that the North Korean government acted [NYT report] in the killing of Kim Jong-nam, with fears that he would be used to overthrow the current regime. If an investigation should result in proving the allegation of involvement by state actors, Quintana said [UN News Centre report] “Kim Jong Nam would be a victim of an extrajudicial killing and measures would need to be taken to assign responsibilities and protect other persons from targeted killings.” North Korea’s ambassador to the UN Kim In-ryong denounced [press conference] the claims as falsehoods, denying the accusations, accusing its enemies of spreading disinformation.

North Korea is well known for human rights violations, which has led to frequent sanctions. Last month Quintana urged the UNHRC and the UN member states to bring human rights violations committed by North Korea before the International Criminal Court and address “the grave human rights situation” in the country. Earlier that month Freedom House [advocacy website], an “independent watchdog organization,” released [JURIST report] its 2017 “Freedom in the World” report, listing North Korea as one of the least-free nations in the world. In January the Obama administration expanded sanctions [JURIST report] against North Korea for alleged human rights violations, adding eight North Korean government officials to the Specially Designated Nationals List. Kim Jong-un and 10 other high ranking officials were placed on the list [JURIST report] in July after the release of the report detailing the human rights violations in the country. In December, the Institute for National Security Strategy released a report [JURIST report] asserting that Kim ordered the executions of 340 people in the five years that he has been in power.