How Jong-nam was assassinated
ON Feb 13, Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was at the KL International Airport 2 when two women swiped his face with a liquid.
The liquid has since been identified as the deadly nerve agent VX, a banned chemical weapon of mass destruction.
Jong-nam felt dizzy and sought help at the airport’s clinic; he died on the way to hospital.
The two women, an Indonesian and a Vietnamese, and one of the girls’ Malaysian boyfriend as well as a North Korean man have been arrested.
The police are also looking for six other North Koreans: four men who were seen with the two women at the airport – they flew out of the country immediately after the attack; a second secretary at the North Korean embassy; and, an employee of North Korea’s national airline, Air Koryo. The last two are believed to be still in Malaysia.
At the time of his death, Jongnam was carrying a North Korean diplomatic passport bearing the name Kim Chol and was on his way back to Macau, where he has lived in exile for several years.