Assassination Weapon

[Anchor Lead]

Now turning to the investigation into the assassination of Kim Jong-nam at a crowded international airport in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysian officials say that the nerve agent VX was used in the murder, an extremely deadly chemical weapon.

[Pkg]

Malaysian health authorities believe that the death of the North Korean leader's half brother Kim Jong-nam occurred "within 15-20 minutes" of his exposure to the VX toxin. Regarding the cause of death, Health Minister Subramaniam Sathasivam said the chemical agent caused "very serious paralysis" that led to death "in a very short period of time."

[Soundbite] Subramaniam Sathasivam(Malaysian Health Minister)

The minister said as little as 10mg of VX nerve agent can be lethal, and that presumably a higher dose was used in the assassination. He said VX is readily absorbed through the skin, with the victim usually exhibiting symptoms within minutes. The minister said Kim lost consciousness at the airport clinic and subsequently died in an ambulance while en route to a hospital that day. He thought it likely that Kim suffered a "very painful death" as his major organs shut down. Given the nerve agent's potent toxicity, Malaysian authorities will continue to monitor the ambulance workers who transported Kim to the hospital as they may have also been exposed. The health minister also said that verifying the victim's identity remains a crucial task, and that officials will find a way to secure DNA samples from a close relative in cooperation with police.