A nerve poison known as VX was used to kill Kim Jong Nam, who was a half-brother to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, police said today.
Kim Jong Nam was thought to have been poisoned by two women who wiped the highly toxic chemical agent on his face at Kuala Lumpur’s international airport on February 13, Malaysian police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said.
The VX chemical, which is classified as a chemical weapon of mass destruction by the United Nations, was found in swabs taken from Kim’s eyes and face.
What is VX
The substance is illegal in Malaysia, said Khalid, adding that police were investigating how it came to be there.
A Vietnamese woman and an Indonesian woman, along with a North Korean man, have been arrested in connection with the killing.
Malaysian police are searching for seven more North Koreans believed to be linked to the attack, including a diplomat in the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur and an airline worker with Air Koryo.
Yesterday, police asked Interpol to issue an alert for four North Koreans who fled Malaysia on the day of Kim’s murder.