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Malaysia: North Korea leader's half brother suffered quick, 'very painful death'

By Allen Cone
A hazmat team conducts checks Sunday inside a Kuala Lumpur airport terminal in Malaysia. Kim Jong Nam, a half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, was killed when a highly toxic chemical weapon known as VX was splashed on his face at the airport, Malaysian police said. Photo by Fazry Ismail/EPA
A hazmat team conducts checks Sunday inside a Kuala Lumpur airport terminal in Malaysia. Kim Jong Nam, a half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, was killed when a highly toxic chemical weapon known as VX was splashed on his face at the airport, Malaysian police said. Photo by Fazry Ismail/EPA

Feb. 26 (UPI) -- The half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un suffered a "very painful death" about 20 minutes after a toxic nerve agent was smeared on his face, Malaysian authorities said Sunday.

Kim Jong Nam, the 45-year-old estranged older brother of the North Korean leader, died from exposure to VX, according to autopsy results. It was splashed on his face when two women attacked him while checking in at a Kuala Lumpur airport on Feb. 13.

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Subramaniam Sathasivam, Malaysia's health minister, said the victim received a huge amount of VX, which is classified as a weapon of mass destruction. It is lethal when absorbed through the skin or mucous membranes and no antidote would have worked, he said.

"The absorption level was so rapid that within a few minutes, the guy had symptoms," Subramaniam told reporters in Kuala Lumpur. "From the time of the onset, he died within 15 to 20 minutes."

VX is banned under the international Chemical Weapons Convention, but North Korea did not sign the agreement.

Indonesian national Siti Aisyah, 25, told Indonesian embassy officials that she was given $80 to smear Kim's face with "baby oil" as part of a reality show joke. Another woman held, Doan Thi Huong, a Vietnamese national born in 1988, also said she thought she was taking part in a television prank.

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Security footage shows the women rushing away after the attack.

Malaysian police Inspector-General Khalid Abu Bakar said the prank story wasn't plausible because the women were "trained to swab the deceased's face."

A North Korean man was arrested in connection with the killing and at least seven other suspects are wanted for police questioning. Hyon Kwang Song, 44, second secretary at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur, is among those sought.

South Korea has accused the North Korean leader of trying to eliminate potential rivals to his power.

In return, North Korea has blamed the South Korean government of persuading Malaysia to "besmirch" its reputation by laying the blame on it.

After the autopsy results, hazmat teams swept the airport terminal for traces of VX. They declared the terminal safe after finding no signs of toxins.

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