Kim Jong-nam killed after nerve agent wiped on face, Malaysia police say

Police in Malaysia have said the half-brother of North Korea's leader who was killed in a Kuala Lumpur airport had a nerve agent on his eye and face.

A statement from the inspector general of police said a preliminary analysis from the Chemistry Department of Malaysia identified the substance as "VX NERVE AGENT".

Kim Jong Nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, died on 13 February shortly after two women smeared 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 Mr 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 said earlier that the two attackers rubbed a liquid on Mr Kim'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 utilised in the attack."

Malaysia's police chief said investigators wanted to question a North Korean embassy official about Mr Kim's death, saying he should co-operate if he had nothing to hide, despite having diplomatic immunity.

Inspector general of police Khalid Abu Bakar said police had also asked Interpol to issue an alert for four North Korean men who left Malaysia the same day Mr Kim was attacked by the two women.

The four men are believed to be back in North Korea, but police also want to question three other people still in Malaysia, including Hyon Kwang Song, a second secretary at the North Korean embassy.

"The foreign officer has got immunity so we have to follow protocol," Mr Khalid said.

"If you have nothing to hide, you don't have to be afraid. You should co-operate."

Mr Khalid acknowledged that Malaysia would not be able to question Mr Hyon if the embassy exercised its immunity privileges.

North Korea's official, state-controlled media mentioned the case for the first time on Thursday, saying Malaysia's investigation was full of "holes and contradictions" without acknowledging the victim was Mr Kim.

The report from KCNA largely echoed past comments by North Korea's ambassador to Malaysia, but the publication of at least some news inside North Korea could be a sign of its concern over growing international speculation that Pyongyang dispatched a hit squad to kill Mr Kim.

Long estranged from North Korea's leadership, Kim Jong Nam had lived outside the country for years, staying in Macau, Singapore and Malaysia.

The two suspected attackers, and Indonesian woman and a Vietnamese woman, are in custody.

AP