- The US State Department says it determined the cause of Tuesday evening
- Jong-Nam had an unidentified liquid sprayed on him on February 13 last year
- He collapsed and died before the ambulance carrying him made it to the hospital
The US State Department has said that the North Korean government used chemical warfare agent VX to assassinate half-brother of Kim Jong-un in Malaysia in 2017
The US State Department has said that the North Korean government used chemical warfare agent VX to assassinate half-brother of Kim Jong-un in Malaysia in 2017
State Department says it imposes additional sanctions on North Korea over assassination
Jong-Nam was waiting for a flight to Macau at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia on February 13 when two women ran up to him from behind and appeared to spray an unidentified liquid on him.
He soon started feeling dizzy, collapsed and died before the ambulance carrying him made it to the hospital. Japanese broadcaster Fuji TV released a CCTV video that captured the attack.
The next day, South Korean television broadcaster TV Chosun reported that the two women were North Korean operatives who fled the airport in a taxi.
On February 15, South Korean government officials confirmed the death and told the press that North Korea’s government had been planning to kill him for the past five years.
Kim Jong-Nam is the illegitimate son of deceased North Korea leader Kim Jong-Il and North Korean actress Song Hye Rim.
Jong-Nam pent an early part of his childhood living in secret with his mother’s relatives in Pyongyang before leaving North Korea to study in top schools in Moscow and Geneva.