Yoji Gomi, a senior reporter at the Tokyo Shimbun who extensively interviewed the late Kim Jong Nam, on Friday said he was personally very shocked at his assassination and that he hoped people would learn more about his life and public statements criticizing North Korea’s government.

“I went through considerable risks to meeting with him, but what I’d like to do now is to praise his courage,” Gomi told reporters at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan.

“Even if he may have sent a letter (to Kim Jong Un) to plead for his life, I believe there was determination on