VX Investigation

[Anchor Lead]

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons operating out the The Hague, the Netherlands, says it will launch an investigation into Kim Jong-nam's poisoning using the deadly nerve agent VX. Here’s our report.

[Pkg]

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which comprises more than 190 member-states, says it may launch an investigation into Kim Jong-nam's murder, which was conducted using the toxic nerve agent VX. In a statement issued by its spokesperson, the organization said that the Malaysian authorities have concluded that Kim Jong-nam was killed using VX and that it's ready to cooperate with the Malaysian investigators by dispatching its experts and providing necessary technology. The organization added that the use of chemical weapons is a matter of grave concern. It is highly unusual for the OPCW to issue a statement regarding North Korea, which is not a member nation of the Chemical Weapons Convention. Although the statement did not mention North Korea directly, it said that the organization will cooperate closely with the Malaysian authorities if the latter request so. If the OPCW officially confirms that North Korea had used VX, the international community will likely call for tougher sanctions against the North over its use of internationally prohibited chemical weapons. Founded in 1997 to implement the international treaty prohibiting the use of chemical weapons by signatory states, the OPCW received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2013 in recognition of its contributions to the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons.