Malaysian police are investigating how the highly toxic nerve agent VX, identified as the chemical used in the murder of Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half brother of North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un got into the country.

Police chief Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar told reporters: "We don't know yet [about the origins of the chemical]. We are trying to find out."

"But if it is a very small amount, it would have been very hard to detect," he added, according to The Star.

Reuters reported that police are investigating whether the chemical, believed to be the most toxic nerve agent in the world, was brought into Malaysia or made in the country itself.

Jong-nam died after being poisoned by the chemical at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 on 13 February.

According to the US Army's Edgewood Chemical Biological Center, the chemical is fatal after only 15 minutes if absorbed in large doses.

The news agency said that in 2015, traces of sarin and the VX nerve agent were found at a military research site in Syria, that had not been declared to the global chemical weapons watchdog.

Separately, Khalid told reporters that one of the two women held in custody over the killing of Jong-nam also suffered the effects of the VX nerve agent.

"She was vomiting," he said, in reference to the symptoms the woman suffered from.

He declined to elaborate, Reuters reported. The police chief also did not identify which of the two female suspects was affected.

Malaysian police nabbed four people — Indonesian woman Siti Aisyah, a Vietnamese woman Doan Thi Huong and two other men, a Malaysian and North Korean — over the murder of Jong-nam.

They have on Thursday (23 February) requested Interpol to put an alert out for additional North Korean suspects who they believe have fled the country on the day of the attack.

The ppolice are also seeking to question the second secretary at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur and two others North Koreans, including an employee of the state-owned airline Air Koryo. </s> The estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was killed with a highly toxic chemical weapon known as VX nerve agent, Malaysian police said Friday, citing a preliminary report.

Kim Jong Nam died after being assaulted at Kuala Lumpur International Airport last Monday while preparing to board a flight to Macau.

South Korean and U.S. officials have said they believe North Korean agents assassinated Kim Jong Nam, who had been living in the Chinese territory of Macau under Beijing’s protection.

Police said swabs taken from the eye and the face of a North Korean national by the chemistry department of Malaysia revealed the presence of VX.

VX nerve agent, or S-2 Diisoprophylaminoethyl methylphosphonothiolate, is chemical weapon classified as a weapon of mass destruction by the United Nations.

“Other exhibits are under analysis,” Malaysian police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said in the statement.

Police chief Khalid said earlier that a Vietnamese woman and a Indonesian woman wiped a liquid on Kim Jong Nam’s face. They later washed their hands and fled the scene.

Airport camera footage released Monday by Japanese broadcaster Fuji TV shows the moment the women appeared to assault Kim Jong Nam, who is later seen asking airport officials for medical help. He died on the way to hospital.

VX is tasteless and odorless, and is outlawed under the Chemical Weapons Convention, except for “research, medical or pharmaceutical purposes.”

It can be manufactured as a liquid, cream or aerosol.

Absorbed in large doses, it is fatal after 15 minutes, according to the U.S. Army’s Edgewood Chemical Biological Center, making it the most toxic known nerve agent in the world.

Malaysia on Thursday requested Interpol to put an alert out to apprehend four North Korean suspects in the murder.

Police are also holding one North Korean man, but are seeking another seven in connection with the murder. </s> Kim Jong Nam, the estranged half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, had been exposed to nerve agent, police in Malaysia said Thursday.

According to the police, a preliminary analysis found VX nerve agent on the face of the victim, who was killed on Feb. 13.

The Centers for Disease Control says VX "is a human-made chemical warfare agent classified as a nerve agent."

"Nerve agents are the most toxic and rapidly acting of the known chemical warfare agents," the site adds.

According to The Associated Press, two women suspected of poisoning Kim Jong Nam were trained to deliver toxic substances by putting them on their hands and wiping them on his face.

"We strongly believe it is a planned thing and that they have been trained to do that. This is not just like shooting a movie," said Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar, according to the AP.

As of Tuesday, four people had been arrested, including the two women. At least one claimed she was tricked into participating in the attack, the AP said. </s> VX nerve agent used in murder of Kim Jong-nam, Malaysia says

A preliminary report shows the murder of Kim Jong-nam was carried out with a highly toxic chemical known as VX nerve agent, Malaysian police say.

The police said swabs were taken from the eye and the face of a North Korean national by the Chemistry Department of Malaysia.

A statement from the inspector general of police said a preliminary analysis from the department identified the substance as VX nerve agent, or S-2 Diisoprophylaminoethyl methylphosphonothiolate, a chemical classified as a weapon of mass destruction by the United Nations.

"Other exhibits are under analysis," Malaysian police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said in the statement.

Mr Khalid said earlier that a Vietnamese woman and an Indonesian woman wiped a liquid on Kim's face.

They later washed their hands and fled the scene.

Airport camera footage released on Monday by Japanese broadcaster Fuji TV shows the moment the women appeared to assault Kim, who is later seen asking airport officials for medical help. He died on the way to hospital.

VX is tasteless and odourless, and is outlawed under the Chemical Weapons Convention, except for "research, medical or pharmaceutical purposes".

It can be manufactured as a liquid, cream or aerosol. Absorbed in large doses, it is fatal after 15 minutes, according to the US Army's Edgewood Chemical Biological Centre, making it the most toxic known nerve agent in the world.

Kim, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, died on February 13 after two women put a substance on his face while he was checking in at Kuala Lumpur International Airport while he was preparing to board a flight to Macau.

Police chief Khalid said help had been sought from Interpol to issue an alert for the four North Korean suspects who left Malaysia on the same day Kim was killed.

It was unclear what Interpol could do, as the four are believed to have returned to Pyongyang and North Korea is not a member of Interpol.

Mr Khalid said there were no plans to send officers to Macau to collect a DNA sample from Kim's family.

Kim had a home in Macau and was on his way there when he was killed.

North Korea said Malaysia's investigation into the death of one of its nationals was full of "holes and contradictions" amid speculation its agents masterminded the assassination.

Malaysian police have not directly pinpointed North Korea as being behind the death of Kim.

The Korean Jurists Committee said in a statement on state-run news agency KCNA that the Malaysian investigation lacked fairness and has been influenced by the South Korean government, which blames Pyongyang for the death.

The North has not acknowledged that the dead man is Kim.

Thursday's statement described the man only as a North Korean citizen bearing a diplomatic passport. </s> The chemical substance used to kill Kim Jong Nam was VX nerve agent, according to a preliminary report by the Chemistry Department of Malaysia, Malaysian police said in a statement Friday.

Nerve agents are the most toxic and fast-acting substance known in chemical warfare — and VX is the most potent of all of them, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Kim, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, died February 13 before he was scheduled to board a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Malaysia.

The Royal Malaysian Police say that two women approached him from behind and wiped his face with some sort of substance.

They were instructed by four North Koreans, who are believed to have returned to Pyongyang, Malaysian Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar said at a news conference Wednesday.

VX works by inhibiting the operation of an enzyme that helps the body’s nervous system function, according to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

It’s more dangerous when exposed to skin in comparison to Sarin, another nerve agent. Nerve agents on the whole work faster when they are absorbed through the respiratory system.

Symptoms can appear after a few seconds, and even small doses can affect people. Larger exposure can lead to convulsions, paralysis and deadly respiratory failure. </s> On Friday morning, Malaysian police confirmed that Kim Jong-un’s half-brother, Kim Jong-nam, was assassinated with the VX nerve agent at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. North Korea is thought to possess the world’s third largest chemical weapons stockpile after the United States and Russia, with one estimate noting that it may possess 2,500 to 5,000 tons of chemical warfare agents. To date, while VX had thought to be an objective for North Korea’s chemical weapons program, there had been no evidence that Pyongyang possessed the highly dangerous nerve agent.

Kim Jong-nam’s assassination, which took place on February 13, has been surrounded by intrigue and speculation, ranging from the extent to which the North Korean mission in Kuala Lumpur provided direct support to the motivations of the two female assassins involved. Malaysian authorities have held individuals at the North Korean embassy in the country liable for involvement in the attack and the use of VX adds to the growing list of evidence pointing to the fact that this was a state-sanctioned assassination, despite ongoing North Korean denials.

North Korea’s use of VX is especially audacious given that it occurred at a busy international airport. VX is so dangerous that the median lethal dose is estimated at 10 mg. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that “people can be exposed through skin contact, eye contact, or inhalation.” The agent can kill within minutes of making contact with human skin. In Kim Jong-nam’s case, Malaysian authorities noted that the agent was detected in his eyes; chemical nerve agents generally work faster once they’ve made contact with mucous membranes such as those found in the human eye.

Remarkably, no reports have emerged to date of any individuals suffering from the VX use at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on February 13. Both assassins survived to end up in Malaysian custody and Malaysia has not specifically announced if any medical or airport staff who handled Kim Jong-nam’s body fell ill or demonstrated any signs of having come into contact with a deadly nerve agent.

Indeed, one of the remaining mysteries in this case now, with the confirmation of VX use, is how neither of the assassins nor any bystanders appear to have been affected. One possibility — suggested by the use of multiple assassins instead of one — is that a VX binary was used, but this has not been confirmed by Malaysian authorities. In a two-stage binary VX reaction, two otherwise safe precursor compounds synthesize the dangerous nerve agent. Accounts of the Kim Jong-nam assassination — including CCTV footage — have confirmed at least two women approached Kim, one of whom put him in a two-handed chokehold. (The U.S. Army first developed binary nerve agents to enable safer handling and storage.)

North Korea is not party to the Chemical Weapons Convention, but has signed the Geneva Protocol restricting the use of chemical agents in war. According to the Nuclear Threat Initiative, “at maximum capacity, North Korea is estimated to be capable of producing up to 12,000 tons of CW.” For wartime use, South Korea seemingly expects delivery of chemical or biological agents by conventional artillery shells. In 2010, after the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island, fearing chemical use in the future, South Korea handed out gas masks to the island’s residents.

It’s unclear if the Kim Jong-nam assassination was meant to serve the secondary purpose of signaling to the world that North Korea definitively possesses the capability to synthesize VX. Immediately after Kim Jong-nam’s death, North Korea protested Malaysia’s intention to proceed with an autopsy and demanded that the body be transferred to its diplomatic mission. Melissa Hanham, an arms control expert at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, told The Diplomat that North Korea’s denials in the press and suspected attempt to even break into the morgue where Kim Jong-nam’s body also add confusion to the situation.

The choice of VX for the assassination, however, isn’t unprecedented. Japanese doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo used the nerve agent for the 1995 assassination of Tadahito Hamaguchi in Osaka, with VX emerging in the autopsy. Aum Shinrikyo also carried out an attack on the Tokyo subway with sarin, another nerve agent, in 1995, killing 12 and injuring more than 4,000. North Korea has used poison-laced needle attacks in assassination attempts in the past; South Korean authorities reported three such incidents against South Korean activists helping North Korea defectors as recently as 2011.

For the moment, the Malaysian investigation into the Kim Jong-nam assassination continues, but the confirmation of VX use by North Korea, while troubling, only raises more questions.

Update: Malaysian authorities have confirmed to Reuters that one of the assassins showed effects of VX exposure, including vomiting. </s> A highly toxic chemical was used in the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's half brother last week, tests have shown.

Swabs taken from his face revealed that Kim Jong-nam had been sprayed with VX nerve agent - classified by the United Nations as a weapon of mass destruction.

Malaysian police announced on Friday that tests on the eyes and face of a North Korean national had been conducted.

Kim, 45, died shortly after appearing to be attacked by two women at Kuala Lumpur airport while he was waiting to board a flight to Macau.

The substance reported to have been found on his person is also known as S-2 Diisoprophylaminoethyl methylphosphonothiolate. </s> Two more North Korean officials are wanted for the murder of Kim Jong-nam

Kim Jong-un’s half brother was reportedly poisoned in Kuala Lumpur’s airport and there are claims the killing was authorised by the despotic North Korean government.

Malaysia’s police chief also announced another North Korean airline employee is wanted in relation to the killing. Both suspects are still believed to be in the country. </s> In 1994 and 1995, the Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo used homemade VX to attack three people, one of whom died.

North Korea is estimated to have a chemical weapons production capability of up to 4,500 metric tons during a typical year and 12,000 tons during a period of extended crisis. It is widely reported to possess a large arsenal of chemical weapons, including mustard, phosgene and sarin gas, a United States Congressional Research Service report said last year.

The announcement by Malaysia’s police chief came just a day after North Korea denied any responsibility for Mr. Kim’s death, accusing the Malaysian authorities of fabricating evidence of Pyongyang’s involvement under the influence of South Korea.

With the North’s reclusive government on the defensive about the Feb. 13 killing of Mr. Kim, the estranged half brother of Kim Jong-un, at the airport for the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, a statement attributed to the North Korean Jurists Committee said the greatest share of responsibility for the death “rests with the government of Malaysia” because Kim Jong-nam died there. And in what could be seen as a threat to Malaysia, the statement noted that North Korea is a “nuclear weapons state.”

But in a case that has been filled with mysteries and odd plot twists, North Korea still would not acknowledge that the man killed was indeed Kim Jong-nam. And it gave no indication that it would agree to Malaysia’s demands to question a senior staff member at the North Korean Embassy in Kuala Lumpur in the investigation into Mr. Kim’s death.

Relatives and acquaintances of the two women Malaysia has accused of carrying out the killing, by applying poison to Kim-Jong-nam’s face as North Korean agents looked on, insisted they must have been duped into doing so, though the Malaysian authorities say otherwise.

“I don’t believe Huong did such a thing,” said Doan Van Thanh, father of Doan Thi Huong, 28, a Vietnamese woman being held in Malaysia. “She was a very timid girl. When she saw a rat or frog, she would scream.” </s> Two women will be charged with murder over their alleged involvement in the killing of Kim Jong-nam, Malaysia's attorney general said.

Doan Thi Huong, a Vietnamese national, and Siti Aishah, from Indonesia, were arrested days after the North Korea leader's half brother was assassinated at Kuala Lumpur's main airport.

Police believe the women smeared VX nerve agent, a chemical on a UN list of weapons of mass destruction, on Kim Jong-nam's face.

The alleged attack was caught on airport security cameras on February 13.

US and South Korean officials believe Kim Jong-nam was the victim of an assassination orchestrated by North Korea.

He had criticised the regime of his family and his half-brother Kim Jong-un in the past and had been living in exile, under Beijing's protection, in the Chinese territory of Macau.

Malaysian police are also holding one North Korean man and have identified seven other North Koreans wanted in connection with the sensational case.

Attorney general Mohamed Apandi Ali said the North Korean in custody will not be charged yet. His remand period ends on Friday.

The attorney general said the women will be formally charged on Wednesday under section 302 of the penal code, which carries the death penalty.

"I can confirm that," he told Reuters in a text message.

Just a day before the death of Jong-nam, half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Siti Aisyah said she was to take part in a ‘prank for a reality show’.

In a video published by China Daily, Siti Aisyah laughed and covered her face shyly when her friends commented she was going to be a ‘big star’.

She was 25 on February 11 - two days before Jong-nam was killed using the lethal chemical weapon VX in the budget airline terminal of Kuala Lumpur international airport.

“I do not believe Siti Aisyah would kill someone just for money,” her best friend said. “It is impossible. I think she has been framed.”

She said Siti Aisyah did not know Jong-nam and had no motive to kill him.

She claimed Aisyah was innocent. Aisyah has told authorities she was paid £72 to carry out the attack , but thought they were wiping Jong-nam’s face with baby oil, not VX, the most lethal chemical agent known to man.

The revelations emerged as North Korea was accused of operating a regiment-level biochemical weapons unit by old enemy South Korea.

Their military warned they had to be prepared for unconventional attacks in the wake of Jong-nam’s assassination with VX, classified by the United Nations as a weapon of mass destruction and banned around the world.

South Korea’s Ministry of National Defence claimed North Korea operated production facilities for chemical and biological weapons, and has a stockpile of such materials that can be used in any attack.

Playboy Jong-nam, 46, collapsed and died after two women allegedly wiped the highly toxic substances across his face. One was vomiting after the attack because of her exposure to a substance which is renowned as one of the world’s deadliest poisons.

A hundredth of a gram is enough to kill within 30 minutes. A drop on a cloth would have been enough to take his life.

Experts claim its use put beyond any doubt that the so-called ‘playboy prince’ had been assassinated on the orders of his half brother after he criticised the secretive communist regime in 2012.

Absorbed in large doses, it is fatal after 15 minutes, according to the US Army's Edgewood Chemical Biological Center, making it the most toxic known nerve agent in the world.

CCTV footage captured the moment Jong-nam was brazenly murdered at the packed airport.

It is still not known how the agent was applied without the woman becoming ill.

Footage begins with him arriving at the concourse in Kuala Lumpur International Airport in a light jacket and carrying a backpack.

He is shown looking at the flight departure boards with other passengers.

Kim, who was preparing to fly to Macau, goes to a ticket machine while the suspects are also shown lurking in the vicinity.

The "LOL jumper" suspect Doan Thi Huong approaches him from behind.

She reaches around appears to target his face, possibly with a poisoned cloth or spray while still standing behind him.

The two appear to wrestle for a second.

Other travellers stand nearby and don't appear to realise what has just occurred.

The attacker then casually walks off unrushed.

Kim is then shown seeking help from airport staff as he complains about the incident.

He is then shown in the airport's medical clinic.

He later died on the way to hospital.

South Korean and US officials have said Kim Jong-nam was assassinated by North Korean agents.

Malaysian police said on Sunday that four North Korean suspects in the murder fled Malaysia on the day of the killing.

Malaysian police arrested a North Korean man on Friday in connection to the murder, while the Vietnamese woman and Indonesian woman have also been arrested.

Interpol will now be asked to help in the hunt for seven North Koreans linked to the murder, including a diplomat and airline official said to be in hiding in the country’s embassy in Kuala Lumpur.

The hermit state has accused Malaysia of having “sinister” purposes - saying Jong-nam died of ‘heart stroke’.

Police also want to speak to Jong-nam’s mistress as they probe his murder, according to sources in Malaysia.

North Korean So Yong Ra, 41, is a former air stewardess with Air Koryo, North Korea’s national flag carrier.

Her name has previously been reported as So Yong La.

Channel NewsAsia, who published a photo of her, said she was from Pyongyang.

A police source said: “She is believed to have lived in Macau together with him since 2001 and eventually got married.

“She worked at Air Koryo from 1992 to 1998. She studied at the Pyongyang Music and Dance University.”

It has been previously reported Jong-nam had two wives, at least one mistress and several children, including a son and a daughter by his second wife, Lee Hye-Kyong.
Malaysian police claim that Kim Jong-nam, half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was killed by VX nerve agent, a toxin used almost exclusively for chemical warfare.