'VX Nerve Agent' Linked ton Kim Jong-Nam's Murder

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24 (Bernama) -- The substance believed to have been used in the murder of Kim Jong-nam on Feb 13 has been identified as 'VX nerve agent' which is listed as a chemical weapon. Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar said the chemical was stated in the preliminary analysis report of the Chemistry Department received by police. In a statement Friday, he said the department's Centre for Chemical Weapons Analysis conducted analyses on several exhibits including dry swab - eye mucosa and dry swab - face. "The substance was analysed and identified as ethyl S-2-diisopropylaminoethyl methylphosphonothiolate or VX nerve agent," he said. VX, said Khalid is listed as a chemical weapon under the first schedule of the Chemical Weapons Convention Act Malaysia 2005 and Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) 1997. According to him, several other exhibits are still in the process of analysis. On Feb 13, Jong-nam who was the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (klia2) to catch a flight to Macau when two women allegedly wiped the victim's face with the palms of their hands which contained a poisonous liquid. Jong-nam sought help at a customer service counter at the airport and was rushed to the Putrajaya Hospital but died on the way. He had come to Malaysia on Feb 6 and carried a passport bearing the name Kim Chol. -- BERNAMA