When Kim Jong Nam, the exiled half brother of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, was killed with nerve gas in a Malaysian airport on Feb. 13, it was evident who might be targeted next.

His 21-year-old son, Kim Han Sol, had similarly criticized the regime in Pyongyang, which was suspected of carrying out the attack. The son’s bloodline made him a potential threat to the Kim dynasty.

What followed was a secretive scramble by a group of North Korean dissidents to get Kim Han Sol, his mother and sister out of their Macau home and fly them to safety in a secure location.

Details have been largely a mystery since February, but the group that helped the trio get out agreed to discuss the evacuation with a media organization for the first time—and from its account it appears that Kim Han Sol was targeted.

There were “attempts by several parties to interfere” with the evacuation, a representative of the group, Cheollima Civil Defense, told The Wall Street Journal.

Cheollima agreed to discuss some details of the family’s relocation because it expects to seek international assistance for other rescues in the future, the representative said.


“We were disappointed by refusals to protect by several countries earlier this year,” the person said, communicating on the group’s official email account.

Cheollima sought help from foreign governments for the rescue of Kim Han Sol. The U.S., China and the Netherlands provided assistance with travel, visas or other aspects of the plan, according to the group. China’s foreign ministry said it had no information on the rescue, and the Netherlands and U.S. declined to comment.

Other nations refused to give assistance. Among them was Canada, a decision that reflected its sensitive negotiations to free a Canadian pastor imprisoned in North Korea, according to a person familiar with the decision.

Canada declined to comment on the refusal, and said that the release of Rev. Lim Hyeon-soo was the result of diplomatic engagement. The pastor’s release came as tensions ramped up between North Korea and the U.S. over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons and missile development.

The North Korean dissident group Cheollima released this YouTube video of Kim Han Sol on March 7.

The family first flew to Taipei, a person familiar with the relocation said. There they spent a tense 30 hours in the airport trying to confirm travel and visas for a final destination, this person said. Cheollima declined to confirm the evacuation route and hasn’t said where the family went.


Cheollima is one of several groups that help those seeking to escape the Kim Jong Un regime. The representative said it consists of North Koreans both outside and, unusually, within the country.

North Koreans are barred from leaving the country without government permission. The country has tightened border controls in recent years, and anyone attempting or aiding an escape risks severe punishment, including the death penalty.

The number of North Koreans who reached South Korea between January and August this year was down almost 13% from last year to 780, data from the Seoul government show.

“We came to meet an urgent need by North Koreans for protection of those in danger,” the Cheollima representative said of the group’s mission.

The Journal spoke to diplomats, a high-level defector and a European human-rights worker who helped Cheollima evacuate the family to learn more about the group.


The defector, who isn’t part of the group, said Cheollima is a small but well-connected organization that had helped North Koreans escape their country through China and into Southeast Asia.

The human-rights worker confirmed the group consisted of North Koreans and had good connections with foreign governments. “They moved very quickly and were verified at the highest level,” he said. Two Western diplomats said Cheollima was trusted to help defectors.

Kuala Lumpur airport security cameras in February recorded Kim Jong Nam talking to airport security and officials after he was attacked with lethal VX nerve agent. He died within 20 minutes of the attack. Photo: Associated Press

“Cheollima” is a mythological winged horse, a North Korean symbol for rapid progress that is seen on stamps and statues in the country.

The Cheollima representative said the family of Kim Jong Nam contacted the group directly soon after his killing.


Three weeks later, on March 7, the group released a video that showed Kim Han Sol displaying his passport and confirming he was safe with his mother and sister. Cheollima declined to connect the Journal to Kim Han Sol or his family.

Kim Jong Nam was almost certainly killed by North Korean agents, U.S. and South Korean officials said. Pyongyang denies involvement.

On Monday, the trial will begin in Malaysia of two women charged with murdering Kim Jong Nam by smearing his face with VX, a nerve agent. Four North Koreans who left Malaysia soon after the incident have also been named as suspects in the case.

Mr. Kim’s family had been living outside of North Korea for many years but said they felt under threat in their well-known Macau home. Kim Han Sol had been critical of the North Korean government in a 2012 Finnish television interview.

“I’ve always dreamed that one day I will go back and make things better,” Kim Han Sol said in the interview. He spoke fluent English with a British accent, and said he was interested in the revolution the previous year in Libya, as related to him by his Libyan roommate.

For the first time in almost a decade, Wall Street Journal reporters traveled to Pyongyang on a tightly controlled reporting trip in September. Here is an early look at some exclusive footage from North Korea. Video/Photo: Paolo Bosonin/The Wall Street Journal

At the time Mr. Kim was studying at an international college in Bosnia. He has also been educated in France. In photos, Mr. Kim has sometimes appeared with a spiky hairstyle, hooded tops and jeans more suited to the streets of Seoul than Pyongyang.

Kim Jong Un has eliminated potential challengers as he has consolidated power in recent years, including members of his own family. In 2013, he executed his uncle, allegedly for building a rival power base. South Korean and U.S. officials said Kim Jong Nam was likely killed under orders from Kim Jong Un.

“North Korea stresses the Kim bloodline for leadership, making estranged family members potentially threatening as a theoretical replacement for Kim Jong Un,” said Patrick McEachern, an expert on North Korea and fellow at the Wilson Center in Washington.

As Kim Jong Un continues a crackdown on defections, Cheollima said it would continue to provide assistance to those seeking to leave the country and look for foreign assistance.

“To those good nations of the world, stand on the right side of history,” the Cheollima representative said. “Our compatriots and the world will remember.”

Write to Alastair Gale at alastair.gale@wsj.com