‘Kim’s brother had lethal dosage of VX’

SHAH ALAM: The estranged half brother of North Korea’s leader had about 1.4 times the lethal dosage of VX nerve agent on his face after he was attacked at a Malaysian airport, a government chemist testified on Tuesday.

Pure VX was on Kim Jong Nam’s body, in his eye and in his blood plasma, government chemist Raja Subramaniam said at the murder trial of two women accused of smearing the chemical weapon on Kim in a brazen assassination in February.

VX was also detected on the clothes both women wore. The trial on Monday had temporarily moved to a high-security government laboratory for the judge, attorneys and the defendants to examine the clothing before it was presented as evidence.

Resuming his testimony on Tuesday, Raja described the lethal potential of VX. He said animal studies showed the lethal dosage is 0.142 mg per kg of body weight, and that 50% of the tested population will die when exposed to this dosage on their skin.

Raja estimated the concentrate on Kim’s facial skin was 0.2mg per kg of body weight.

Asked if the VX concentrate found on Kim’s face was enough to kill him, Raja said: “I can’t give a direct answer on this. Based on concentrate estimate, it is about 1.4 times the lethal dosage.”

VX is banned by an international treaty but is believed to be part of North Korea’s chemical weapons arsenal.