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WORLD NEWS Saturday 25 February 2017

Malaysia: VX nerve agent killed brother of N. Korean leader

ful poison, with an amount a leading toxicologist who sign that anyone except
no larger than a few grains heads the forensic medi- the alleged attacker has
of salt enough to kill. An cine division at the Univer- fallen ill.
odorless chemical, it can sity of Florida. He said an News that a deadly nerve
be inhaled, swallowed or antidote can be admin- agent killed Kim Jong Nam
absorbed through the skin. istered by injection. U.S. was an astonishing break in
Then, in anywhere from medics and military per- a case of murder and geo-
a few seconds to a few sonnel carried kits with the political intrigue.
hours, it can cause a range antidote on the battlefield Kim, who was in his mid-40s
of symptoms, from blurred during the Iraq war in case and had lived abroad for
vision to a headache. they were exposed to the years, was estranged from
Enough exposure leads to chemical weapon. his younger brother, Kim
convulsions, paralysis, respi- “I’m intrigued that these Jong Un. The elder Kim was
ratory failure and death. two alleged assassins suf- reportedly pushed aside
Passengers scan departure information at the Kuala Lumpur In- It has the consistency of fered no ill effect from ex- by his stepmother, than
ternational Airport in Sepang, Malaysia, Friday, Feb. 24, 2017. motor oil and can take posure to VX,” he said. “It is completely fell out of fa-
According to police Friday, forensics has stated that the banned days or even weeks to possible that both of these vor when he was caught
chemical weapon VX nerve agent was used to kill Kim Jong evaporate. It could have women were given the an- trying to enter Japan on a
Nam, the North Korean ruler’s outcast half brother who was poi- contaminated anywhere tidote.” false passport in 2001, say-
soned last week at the airport. The announcement raised seri- Kim was afterward, includ- With authorities acknowl- ing he wanted to visit Tokyo
ous questions about public safety in a building that authorities
went 11 days without decontaminating. ing medical facilities and edging they had not de- Disneyland. While he is be-
(AP Photo) the ambulance he was contaminated the airport lieved to have kept out of
transported in, experts say. after the killing, the case politics, he has given brief
EILEEN NG of travelers in the budget “It’s a very toxic nerve also has raised questions interviews criticizing dynas-
Associated Press terminal at Kuala Lum- agent. Very, very toxic,” about public safety — al- tic succession in North Ko-
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia pur’s airport, has boosted said Dr. Bruce Goldberger, though there has been no rea.
(AP) — Sometime in the speculation that North Ko-
hours after poisoning the rea dispatched killers to as-
half brother of North Ko- sassinate its leader’s older
rea’s leader, one of his two brother, who, though not
attackers began to vomit, an obvious political threat,
Malaysian police said Fri- may have been seen as a
day. It was apparently an potential rival in the coun-
early indication of the im- try’s dynastic dictatorship.
mensely powerful toxin that While Malaysia hasn’t di-
was used in the killing: the rectly accused the North
chemical warfare agent Korean government of be-
VX. ing behind the attack, of-
The oily poison was almost ficials said earlier this week
certainly produced in a that four North Korean men
sophisticated state weap- provided the women with
ons laboratory, experts say, poison. The four fled Malay-
and is banned under inter- sia shortly after the killing,
national treaties. North Ko- police say.
rea, a prime suspect in the South Korean intelligence
case, never signed that officials have accused
treaty, and has spent de- North Korea of being be-
cades developing a com- hind the attack, saying
plex chemical weapons Kim Jong Nam had been
program that has long wor- on a government hit list
ried the international com- for years. North Korea de-
munity. nies any role in the murder
“This is not something you and says Malaysia’s inves-
make in a kitchen lab. tigation is biased and full
You’d kill yourself if you of holes. But since taking
did,” said Bruce Bennet, power in late 2011, North
a defense expert with the Korean ruler Kim Jong Un
RAND Corporation who has has executed or purged a
studied North Korea. number of high-level gov-
The public poisoning of ernment officials, including
Kim Jong Nam, which his uncle.
took place amid crowds VX is an extremely power-