Police found traces of VX nerve agent on the victims’ face and in his eyes. VX is considered by the UN as a weapon of mass destruction. Just one drop absorbed through the skin leads to death within minutes. North Korea believed to have between 2500 and the 5 thousand tons of nerve gas.
Kuala Lumpur (AsiaNews) - Kim Jong-nam, half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was assassinated by a potent type VX nerve gas.
The Malaysian police said that traces of VX were found on the victims’ face and in his eyes. According to the reconstructions and the Kuala Lumpur airport cctv, Kim Jong-nam, who was traveling to Macau, was approached by two women who smeared something on his face.
The man immediately felt ill and called for help, but died while being transported to hospital. The two women, as confirmed by the police, quickly washed their hands so as not to be intoxicated by the poisonous agent.
VX is the most deadly nerve agent, classified as a "weapon of mass destruction" by the UN. It is an oily, odorless and tasteless liquid; even if absorbed in very small quantities through the skin, it causes death by blocking nerve impulses. Just one drop absorbed by the skin leads to death within minutes.
VX was discovered by the British at the beginning of the 1950s. They sold the formula to the US Army, who started its large-scale production in 1961.
It is thought that Saddam Hussein used this nerve gas in the attacks against the Kurds and in the Iran-Iraq war.
North Korea says that it has no chemical weapons program. But according to some NGOs, it has between 2,500 and 5 thousand tons of nerve gas (including VX).