Kim Jong-nam died 20 minutes after being poisoned

(Baonghean.vn) - Kim Jong-nam - the brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may have died within 20 minutes of being exposed to nerve agent at Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Kim Jong-nam died 20 minutes after being poisoned by VX. Photo: Internet.

Malaysian Health Minister Subramaniam Sathasivam said on February 26 that autopsy results showed that Mr. Kim's death was related to poisoning with the nerve agent VX. VX is banned worldwide and is a highly toxic substance capable of killing a person within minutes.

The man’s mysterious death occurred about 15-20 minutes after exposure to the poison. According to Sathasivam, Kim Jong-nam’s final moments must have been “very painful,” adding that he lost consciousness in the medical room and died on the way to the emergency room.

Malaysian authorities now need DNA samples from relatives, dental records and physical evidence to formally identify Mr Kim. “Once we have confirmed his identity, the job will be complete,” the health minister said.

Prank failed?

The Indonesian Embassy in Malaysia said that Siti Aisyah, one of the two women who Malaysian authorities said covered Kim Jong-un's face with poison, said she thought she was taking part in a prank and thought the poison was baby oil.

Indonesian authorities first made contact with Aisyah on February 25. Malaysian police chief Khalid Abu Bakar did not believe it was a prank, insisting the female suspects had been “trained to attack the victim’s face.”

A Malaysian official said Aisyah vomited in a taxi after the incident, but denied reports that she had shown symptoms of VX poisoning.

Aisyah’s aunt said her niece was hired to “act as a comedian,” pranking strangers by smearing lotion and ketchup on them. “A small person like her cannot commit murder without being manipulated,” Aisyah’s aunt told CNN.

Malaysian police believe Aisyah and a Vietnamese woman named Doan Thi Huong acted on instructions from four North Korean citizens, but North Korea has denied involvement in Mr Kim's death.

The Vietnamese Embassy also met with suspect Doan Thi Huong on February 25. It is known that Huong is still in stable health condition and thought she was just participating in a joke.

Malaysian authorities have asked Interpol to be on the lookout for four North Koreans. Malaysian police believe the four suspects may have returned to Pyongyang.

Thu Giang

(According to CNN)