Malaysian Police: Deadly VX Nerve Agent Killed Kim’s Half-Brother

February 24, 2017, 9:19 AM (IDT)

VX nerve agent, a chemical on a U.N. list of weapons of mass destruction, was used to kill the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in last week’s murder in a busy Kuala Lumpur airport, Malaysian police said on Friday. The two women who assaulted Kim Jong Nam wiped the deadly chemical on his face as he prepared to board a plan for the Chinese territory of Macau.

Malaysian police were investigating whether the illegal VX – believed to be the most toxic known nerve agent – was brought into the country or made there. Authorities intended to decontaminate the airport, along with other locations that suspects, three of whom were caught last week, had visited.

Police are holding the two women – one Vietnamese and the other Indonesian – along with a North Korean man. They are also seeking seven other North Koreans wanted in connection with the case, including a diplomat at the embassy in Kuala Lumpur.

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