Kim Jong-un’s nephew turns down Oxford uni spot ‘fearing he would be murdered in the UK’
THE nephew of North Korea's supreme leader turned down a place at Oxford University after fears he would be targeted by Kim Jong-un's assassins.
Kim Han Sol's decision to pull out of the prestigious university was reportedly made after his father was the victim of an apparent assassination in Malaysia, dying a painful death after being sprayed with poison.
Authorities are desperately investigating Kim Jong-nam's death, releasing images of a number of North Koreans that they want to speak to about the assassination that took place in just seconds.
The Mail on Sunday has now reported that the 21-year-old son of the cheeky playboy had planned to move to the UK and start studying at Oxford graduate college in September.
But the young man, who studied politics in Paris for three years, is now reportedly under armed guard with his mother Ri Hye Kyong and sister Sol Hui, 18, in China's Macau region.
A Beijing source said: "North Korea depends heavily on Chinese aid and Kim Jong-un wouldn't dare kill his nephew on Chinese soil.
"In Britain, however, Han Sol would be at far greater risk.
"We don't know for sure if he turned down the university place because of the warning but it now looks as if that decision may have kept him alive for now."
Giving up the spot means he will be unable to join his girlfriend, Sonia, who reportedly already studies at the university.
The Mail further reported that Kim Jong-nam had shrugged off safety warnings to travel to Malaysia, where he met his untimely fate.
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Malaysian authorities are now searching for four North Koreans in connection to the death of Kim Jong-nam,
The man reportedly staggered to airport staff after the attack, telling them that it was "very painful, very painful" before succumbing to the poison.
Rumours around what really happened that day have abounded, with some reports suggesting that a man had disguised himself as a woman to help poison the playboy in just seconds at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia.
It is believed that the poison used in the attack could have been puffer fish poison.
Four people have already been arrested by authorities in Malaysia over the assassination, with one woman who was wearing a top with the slogan 'LOL' emblazoned on it revealed to be an entertainment worker.
The suspected female assassin held over the death reportedly claimed she thought she was “playing a prank”.
Another woman, a masseuse, is being questioned over the death.
The autopsy report has revealed Jong-nam was either poisoned with ricin or puffer fish toxins 1,200 times more lethal than cyanide, according to reports.
Ricin, a lethal chemical found in the seeds of castor oil plants, is considered a prime candidate for the poison, the Malaysia Star reported.
An alternative is tetrodotoxin, a lethal compound found in the liver of the puffer fish that can be 1,200 times more lethal than cyanide.
A North Korean official was pictured looking furious on Wednesday as a delegation failed to block the autopsy amid claims Jong-nam was trying to defect.
The secretive state's stooges had spent hours in a stand-off with Malaysian officials trying to block the tests on Jong-nam's body, sources revealed.
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