Malaysia: No cause of death yet for Kim Jong Nam

Malaysia’s Director General of Health Noor Hisham Abdullah (right) speaks during a press conference at Kuala Lumpur Hospital

Determining whether poison killed the half brother of North Korea’s leader in a busy airport is proving difficult for Malaysian officials, who said Tuesday that autopsy results are so far inconclusive.

More than a week has passed since Kim Jong Nam was approached by two women at a budget air terminal in Kuala Lumpur and apparently attacked in the face with an unknown substance. Kim did not suffer a heart attack and had no puncture wounds, such as those a needle would have left, Director General of Health Noor Hisham Abdullah told reporters. He did not dismiss poison as a potential cause.

“We have to confirm with the lab report before we can make any conclusive remark,” he said. He added that medical specimens have been sent to experts for analysis.

Identifying a specific poison can be challenging, especially if a minute amount was used and it did not penetrate fat cells in the victim’s tissue. If the toxin only entered the bloodstream, it could leave the body very quickly. And even if a substance is found, it would need to match the symptoms Kim Jong Nam experienced before death. The more unique the poison is, the harder it is to find.

Highly sophisticated facilities, such as in Japan or at the FBI’s crime lab in the U.S., are among those that have greater capabilities for discovering unusual toxic substances.

The case has perplexed leading forensic toxicologists who study murder by poison. They say the airport attack is one of the most bizarre cases in the books, and question how the two women could walk away unscathed after deploying an agent potent enough to kill Kim Jong Nam before he could even make it to the hospital.

Some type of nerve gas or ricin, a deadly substance found in castor beans, have been suggested as possible toxins used. A strong opioid compound could also have been liquidized, though that would likely have incapacitated the victim immediately. Surveillance footage instead shows Kim walking calmly downstairs to the airport’s clinic.

The attack spiraled into diplomatic fury when Malaysia refused to hand over Kim Jong Nam’s corpse to North Korean diplomats after his death, and proceeded with an autopsy over the ambassador’s objections. The two nations have made a series of increasingly angry statements since then, with Malaysia insisting it is simply following its legal protocols, and North Korea accusing Malaysia of working in collusion with its enemy South Korea. Seoul’s spy agency believes North Korea was behind the killing, but has produced no evidence.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak told reporters yesterday that the North Korean ambassador’s remarks were “diplomatically rude” and said Pyongyang “should help us to find out the truth.”

Isolated North Korea has a long history of ordering killings of people it views as threats to its regime. Kim Jong Nam was not known to be seeking political power; he was best known for his penchants for drinking, gambling and expensive restaurants. But his position as eldest son of the family that has ruled North Korea since it was founded could have made him appear to be a danger. AP

Family believes Vietnamese suspect was duped

The family of a Vietnamese woman arrested in the death of the half brother of North Korea’s ruler in Malaysia has confirmed she is their relative, but believes she didn’t knowingly participate in the killing. Speaking at their home in a farming village, Doan Van Thanh said he is the father of the suspect, Doan Thi Huong, but cannot believe she would do such an “Earth-shaking” thing. Her niece, Dinh Thi Quyen, said she believes Huong was duped into taking part.