Police say nerve agent was found on face of killed N.Korean

Malaysian police said Friday that the half brother of North Korea's leader who was killed in a Kuala Lumpur airport more than a week ago had a nerve agent on his eye and his face.

A statement Friday from the inspector general of police said that a preliminary analysis from the Chemistry Department of Malaysia identified the agent at "VX NERVE AGENT."

Kim Jong Nam, the half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, died Feb. 13 shortly after two women put a substance on his face while he was checking in for a flight.

Police have not said how the women were able to apply the nerve agent to Kim's face and also avoid becoming ill themselves. It is not known if they were wearing some sort of thin gloves or if washing their hands quickly removed the danger.

Police had said earlier that the two attackers rubbed a liquid on Kim Jong Nam's face before walking away and quickly washing their hands. He sought help from airport staff but died before he reached the hospital.

The seeming contradiction of a poison that could kill him quickly but not sicken the attackers has stumped outside experts.

Bruce Goldberger, a leading toxicologist who heads the forensic medicine division at the University of Florida, said some protective measures must have been in place if the women handled the substance without gloves.

"It's also possible that the toxin was encapsulated, then activated when applied to the skin," he said before the latest police statement. "As additional information is provided to the media by the police, it seems more likely that a new or modified chemical or biological agent was utilized in the attack."

Culled from AP