Chemical weapon substance cited in death of DPRK man

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysian police said on Friday a man from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea who died on the way from a Malaysian airport to hospital on Feb 13 was killed by a chemical weapon substance found on his body.

The man was killed by VX nerve agent, which is prohibited in Malaysia, national police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said.

He said the police are investigating how the chemical was smuggled into Malaysia.

In a statement released earlier in the day, Khalid said a preliminary analysis by the country’s Chemistry Department had identified VX nerve agent on samples of eye mucosa and on the victim’s face.

He said VX is listed as a chemical weapon under Schedule 1 of Malaysia’s Chemical Weapons Convention Act 2008, as well as the Chemical Weapons Convention, an international arms control treaty that outlaws the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons and their precursors.

Malaysian police identified the victim as Kim Chol, from the DPRK.

Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said embassy documents appeared to show the man was Kim Jong-nam, halfbrother of DPRK leader Kim Jong Un, but the DPRK ambassador in Malaysia denied the victim’s identity.

Malaysian police subsequently arrested two women who allegedly put liquid on the man’s face before he died.

Pyongyang on Thursday said the death of the DPRK national was an “anti-DPRK conspiratorial racket” launched by Seoul.

The DPRK also blamed the Malaysian side for an unfriendly attitude in handling the case, the official KCNA news agency reported.