Now aint this peculiar. After the Russian ambassador is murdered in Turkey now this new Russian diplomat all of a sudden has a heart attack and dies. We don't have to ask who's behind this now do we?!!?
Vitaly Churkin, Russian ambassador to United Nations, dies in New York
U.S.
CBS/AP
NEW YORK -- Russian officials say its ambassador to the United Nations has died suddenly in New York City. Vitaly Churkin was 64.
Russia’s
deputy U.N. ambassador, Vladimir Safronkov, told The Associated Press
that Churkin became ill in his office at Russia’s U.N. mission and was
taken to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, where he died Monday.
A
Russian Embassy spokesperson told CBS News that they believe Churkin
died of a heart attack but they do not yet have official word on the
cause of death.
Churkin
has been Russia’s envoy at the United Nations for a little over a
decade and was considered Moscow’s great champion at the U.N.
He had a reputation for an acute wit and sharp repartee especially
with his American and Western counterparts. He was previously ambassador
at large and earlier served as the foreign ministry spokesman.
Russia’s Deputy Permanent Representative Petr Iliichev said about Churkin that he kept working “till the very end.”
“The
loss that Russia has suffered is irreplaceable. Ambassador Churkin kept
working till the very last moment. He dedicated all his life to
protecting Russia’s interests abroad. He was [always] at the front line,
taking the most challenging appointments,” Iliichev said.
In a recent interview with CBS News
and two other news organizations, Churkin said U.S.-Russia relations
were “probably the worst since 1973.” He also added it is “fashionable
to blame Russia for everything.”
“The big distinction between the
Cold War and the current climate is that during the Cold War, the
attitude at the U.N. was that Russia would never vote with the U.S.;”
now, he said, the two nations cooperate in several areas and worked with
the U.S. and other nations to find a consensus candidate to be the next
Secretary General.
Colleagues took to social media to react to Churkin’s death:
Okay, it doesn't take a genius to know that this poor man's death was in retaliation for NORTH Korea testing that missile and nuclear bomb. They murdered (and you know who I mean) someone who had nothing to do with the current political climate to send a message to kim jung un You murdered an innocent man just to send a satanic message to his brother?!!?. Well I got a message for them from the Lord; God is going to destroy you and He ain't gonna' go after members of your family to get His point across though they will suffer also; He's coming after you!!! Eat sleep and be merry; coz' tomorrow you die!
Woman arrested in death of Kim Jong Un's half brother
Officials: Kim Jong Un's half-brother murdered02:23
Story highlights
A woman with a Vietnamese travel document arrested, Malaysian police say
South Korean intelligence believes Kim Jong Nam was killed with poison, official says
Hong Kong (CNN)A woman has been arrested in connection with the death of Kim Jong Un's half brother, Malaysian police said.
She was detained Wednesday at Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur International Airport carrying a Vietnamese travel document.
Earlier,
South Korea's intelligence committee said two Asian women were
suspected of killing Kim Jong Nam, who died soon after being attacked
Monday at the same airport.
Investigators are awaiting the results of an autopsy on his body.
Lee did not say how Kim was poisoned or how South Korea obtained the information.Kim's
death has not been publicized in North Korea and is unlikely to be,
given political sensitivities, according to CNN's Will Ripley, who is in
Pyongyang.
Kim was boarding a flight to the island of Macau, a Chinese territory, to visit his family when he was attacked, Lee said.
He was spotted dining at one of Macau's ritzy hotels a little more than a week ago, a restaurant employee said.
Reports about Kim Jong Nam's death inundate South Korean TV screens Wednesday in Seoul.
Kim went to a counter at the Kuala Lumpur airport asking for help, the Royal Malaysia Police said.
A
Malaysian official told CNN that he was then taken to an airport
clinic, which decided to send him to the hospital. He died en route.
"The
deceased ... felt like someone grabbed or held his face from behind,"
Selangor State Criminal Investigations Department Chief Fadzil Ahmat
told Reuters.
South Korea's
Unification Ministry said Wednesday it was working with Malaysian
authorities, while the acting leader discussed the death at a National
Security Council meeting.
The North
Korean Embassy in Malaysia said it had no information about Kim's death
when contacted by CNN, but a car with a North Korean flag was seen
entering the hospital mortuary, where Kim's body is believed to be held.
Journalists gather outside a hospital forensic department Wednesday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Unsubstantiated reports
Unsubstantiated reports of how Kim was attacked have circulated, but Malaysian police are providing few details.
The
Malaysian inspector general of police said in a statement Tuesday the
deceased North Korean man was traveling with a passport bearing the name
Kim Chol.
Kim, who was in his
mid-40s, had a reputation for traveling on fake passports -- doing so
may have even been tied to his fall from grace in his home country.
Kim Jong Nam, left, was the half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Kim
was the most public of all Kim Jong Il's sons before half brother Kim
Jong Un took power. It was reported he lost favor with his father after
he used a forged document to try to visit Tokyo Disneyland in 2001.
Kim Jong Nam was the son of Kim Jong Il and Song Hye Rim, one of the late ruler's favored mistresses.
Kim Jong Un, the youngest son, was born to another mistress, Ko Yong Hui.
Kim
Jong Nam didn't believe his half brother had the ability to lead North
Korea properly, according to Yoji Gomi, author of the 2012 book "My
Father, Kim Jong Il, and Me."
Kim Jong Nam, right, with his father, the late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.
But he never actually met Kim Jong Un due to the North Korean practice of raising potential successors separately.
After
his departure from North Korea, the older Kim became known as an
overweight and careless playboy, who was willing to speak out about his
family.
"He spoke out against his father's 'military first' policy," Gomi told CNN in 2012. "He wants North Korea to embrace economic reform and open its doors."
