Kuala Lumpur: North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un's half brother was assassinated with a lethal nerve agent manufactured for chemical warfare and listed by the UN as a weapon of mass destruction, Malaysian police said yesterday.
Releasing a preliminary toxicology report on Kim Jong-Nam's murder at Kuala Lumpur airport, police revealed the poison used by the assassins was the odourless, tasteless and highly toxic VX.
An autopsy revealed traces of VX -- a fast-acting toxin that sparks respiratory collapse and heart failure -- on the dead man's face and in his eyes.
Tiny amounts of the poison are enough to kill an adult, whether it is inhaled or absorbed through the skin.
"I am outraged that the criminals used such a dangerous chemical in a public area," said Environment Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar It "could have caused mass injuries or even death to other people".
National police chief Khalid Abu Bakar has previously said the woman who attacked Kim from behind clearly knew she was carrying out a poison attack, dismissing claims that she thought she was taking part in a TV prank.
