Terminal declared ‘safe zone’

Malaysia’s Health Minister said autopsy results suggested a nerve agent caused “very serious paralysis” that killed the exiled half brother of North Korea’s leader, as police completed a sweep of the budget terminal where he was poisoned and declared it safe of toxin.

The investigation has unleashed a serious diplomatic fight between Malaysia and North Korea, a prime suspect in the February 13 killing of Kim Jong Nam at Kuala Lumpur’s airport.

Health Minister Subramaniam Sathasivam said the state chemistry department’s finding of the VX toxin confirmed the hospital’s autopsy result that suggested a “chemical agent caused very serious paralysis” that led to death “in a very short period of time”. The VX agent can lead to death very quickly in high doses.

The killing of Kim Jong Nam took place amid crowds of travellers at Kuala Lumpur’s Airport. Kim died on the way to a hospital. Tens of thousands of passengers have passed through the airport since the apparent assassination. No areas were cordoned off, and protective measures were not taken. Subramaniam said there have been no reports so far of anyone else being made ill by the toxin.

However, a sweep was conducted of the budget terminal for traces of VX. It involved officers from chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear teams, as well as the fire department’s hazardous materials unit and the government’s atomic energy board. Although VX is not radioactive, police said the radiological team and the atomic energy board were involved as a precaution.

Abdul Samah Mat, the police official leading the investigations, said the sweep detected no hazardous material. He said the budget terminal is a “safe zone”.