North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s half-brother was assassinated with a lethal nerve agent manufactured for chemical warfare and listed by the UN as a weapon of mass destruction, Malaysian police said yesterday.
Releasing a preliminary toxicology report on Kim Jong-nam’s murder at Kuala Lumpur airport, police revealed the poison used by the assassins was the odorless, tasteless and highly toxic VX.
The news brought condemnation from South Korea, which criticized the use of the nerve agent as a “blatant violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and other international norms.”
Photo: Reuters / PTS Chip
Experts in South Korea said that the North has up to 5,000 tonnes of chemical weapons stockpiled, including a supply of VX.
Kim Jong-nam died on Feb. 13 after being attacked at Kuala Lumpur International Airport by two women, who are seen on CCTV footage shoving something into his face.
He suffered a seizure and was dead before he reached hospital.
An autopsy revealed traces of VX — a fast-acting toxin that sparks respiratory collapse and heart failure — on the dead man’s face and in his eyes.
Tiny amounts of the poison are enough to kill an adult, whether it is inhaled or absorbed through the skin.
“I am outraged that the criminals used such a dangerous chemical in a public area,” Malaysian Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said.
It “could have caused mass injuries or even death to other people,” he said.
One of the two women arrested after the attack fell ill in custody, police said, adding that she had been vomiting.
Royal Malaysia Police Inspector General Khalid Abu Bakar has previously said the woman who attacked Kim Jong-nam from behind clearly knew she was carrying out a poison attack, dismissing claims that she thought she was taking part in a TV prank.
“The lady was moving away with her hands toward the bathroom,” Khalid said earlier this week. “She was very aware that it was toxic and that she needed to wash her hands.”
Khalid yesterday said that experts would sweep the airport terminal where the Cold War era-style attack took place for traces of the toxin, as well as other locations the women had visited.
“We are investigating how [the VX] entered the country,” he told reporters.
Detectives are holding three people — two women from Indonesia and Vietnam, and a North Korean man — but want to speak to seven others.
One man wanted for questioning is senior North Korean embassy official Hyon Kwang-song.
North Korean Ambassador to Malaysia Kang Chol has said Pyongyang “cannot trust” the police to conduct their probe fairly. He was told to shut up or face the prospect of being kicked out of the nation.
“The ambassador has been informed of the process involved [in the police investigation], but he continues to be delusional, and spew lies and accusations against the government of Malaysia,” Malaysian Minister of Foreign Affairs Anifah Aman said.
A senior government official said Kang had been shown a “yellow card.”
“If he repeats the baseless allegations, he will be expelled,” the official said.
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
DISRUPTIONS: The high-speed rail is to operate as normal, while several airlines either canceled flights or announced early departures or late arrivals Schools and offices in 15 cities and counties are to be closed today due to Typhoon Gaemi, local governments announced last night. The 15 are: Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Tainan, Keelung, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, as well as Yilan, Hualien, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang counties. People should brace for torrential rainfall brought by the storm, with its center forecast to make landfall on the east coast between tonight and tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The agency issued a sea warning for the typhoon at 11:30pm on Monday, followed by a land warning at 11:30am yesterday. As of
CASUALTY: A 70-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Kaohsiung as the premier warned all government agencies to remain on high alert for the next 24 hours Schools and offices nationwide are to be closed for a second day today as Typhoon Gaemi crosses over the nation, bringing torrential rain and whipping winds. Gaemi was forecast to make landfall late last night. From Tuesday night, its outer band brought substantial rainfall and strong winds to the nation. As of 6:15pm last night, the typhoon’s center was 20km southeast of Hualien County, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. It was moving at 19kph and had a radius of 250km. As of 3pm yesterday, one woman had died, while 58 people were injured, the Central Emergency Operation Center said. The 70-year-old