A South Korean national who claims to have known Kim Jong Nam, the murdered half-brother of the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, spoke to NK News on Friday, sharing memories of a more than decade-long friendship with Kim.

Anxious of the possibility that North Korean spies were attempting to learn the whereabouts of Kim Jong Nam’s family, the source agreed to speak on the condition that no questions would be asked related to his wife or sons.

“He wanted to live an ordinary life, just like you: free from media attention,” Lee Dong-seop told NK News.

Lee has lived