Malaysian police said Friday that the half-brother of North Korea’s leader who was killed in a Kuala Lumpur airport more than a week ago had a nerve agent on his eye and his face.
A statement Friday from the inspector general of police said that a preliminary analysis from the Chemistry Department of Malaysia identified the agent at “VX nerve agent.”
Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, died Feb. 13 shortly after two women put a substance on his face while he was checking in for a flight to Macau.
Police have not said how the women were able to apply the nerve agent to Kim’s face and also avoid becoming ill themselves.
Police had said earlier that the two attackers rubbed a liquid on Kim Jong-nam’s face before walking away and quickly washing their hands. He sought help from airport staff but died before he reached the hospital.
Malaysia’s police chief said Thursday that investigators want to question a North Korean embassy official about Kim Jong-nam’s death, saying he should co-operate if he has nothing to hide despite having diplomatic immunity.
“The foreign officer has got immunity so we have to follow protocol,” Khalid told reporters. “If you have nothing to hide,
you don’t have to be afraid. You should co-operate.”
Fuji-TV obtained released images purporting to be from Feb. 31, 2017, footage from Kuala Lumpur airport security cameras. (Fuji TV/Associated Press)
North Korea’s official, state-controlled media mentioned the case for the first time Thursday, saying Malaysia’s investigation was full of “holes and contradictions” without acknowledging the victim was Kim Jong-nam.
The report from KCNA largely echoed past comments by North Korea’s ambassador to Malaysia, but the publication of at least some news inside North Korea could be a sign of its concern over growing international speculation that Pyongyang dispatched a hit squad to kill Kim Jong-nam.
Long estranged from North Korea’s leadership, Kim Jong-nam had lived outside the country for years, staying in Macau, Singapore and Malaysia.
The two suspected attackers, and Indonesian woman and a Vietnamese woman, are in custody.
Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar said police have also asked Interpol to issue an alert for four North Korean men who left Malaysia the same day Kim Jong-nam was attacked.
The four men are believed to be back in North Korea, but police also want to question three other people still in Malaysia, including Hyon Kwang Song, a second secretary at the North Korean embassy.
