North Korea Used VX Gas To Kill Kim Jong Un's Brother Claims US
The US State Department has concluded that North Korea was behind the attack that killed Kim Jong Un's half-brother in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. According to a recent report, the assassins smeared Kim Jong-nam's face with VX nerve agent under orders from his brother's despotic regime.
In response to the killing, the State Department has imposed further sanctions on the country this week.
"The United States strongly condemns the use of chemical weapons to conduct an assassination," the State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said in a statement Tuesday. "This public display of contempt for universal norms against chemical weapons use further demonstrates the reckless nature of North Korea and underscores that we cannot afford to tolerate a North Korean WMD (weapons of mass destruction) program of any kind."
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Kim Jong-nam is the eldest son of the late North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il who died in 2011. He considered as Kim's heir until he had a falling out with his father that forced him to live in exile in Macau. He has been known to criticize the regime of his family particularly his half-brother's lack of leadership skills.
Kim suddenly felt ill in at Kuala Lumpur airport on Feb. 13 after two women smeared his face with an unknown substance. He died shortly after.
The women, Siti Aisyah and Doan Thi Huong, were quickly apprehended. According to them, they believed they were carrying out a prank for a TV show and did not know that the tasteless, odorless liquid they smeared Kim with was poison. They are now facing murder charges which could result in a death penalty in Malaysia.
North Korea recently agreed to talks with the US regarding its nuclear weapons program and even offered to suspend them during said talks. It is currently unclear whether the new sanctions will affect the country's warmer disposition towards the US and its allies in the region.
