Kuala Lumpur – Malaysia on Friday condemned the use of VX nerve agent in last month’s killing of Kim Jong Nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
“The foreign ministry strongly condemns the use of such a chemical weapon by anyone, anywhere and under any circumstances. Its use at a public place could have endangered the general public,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
“Malaysia does not produce, stockpile, import, export or use any … toxic chemicals including VX,” it added.
“Malaysia has fully cooperated with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and has complied entirely with all its obligations,” the statement said.
On Wednesday, two women – one from Indonesia and one from Vietnam – were charged with murder for allegedly poisoning Kim by rubbing VX nerve agent on his face at Kuala Lumpur’s international airport on February 13.
On Thursday, North Korean diplomat Ri Ton Il insisted that Kim Jong Nam was not poisoned, noting that Kim had a history of high blood pressure and could have died of a heart attack.
Ri, Pyongyang’s former deputy ambassador to the United Nations, said that samples of the toxic substance used in the attack should be sent to the OPCW for further evaluation.
The aftermath of the high-profile killing has strained diplomatic relations between Pyongyang and Kuala Lumpur.
Meanwhile, a North Korean man held in custody over the killing was released on Friday and would be deported, local media said.
Police did not say why Ri Jong Chol, who was detained on February 17, was being held.
The 47-year-old worked in an IT department in Kuala Lumpur and could be seen Friday wearing a bulletproof vest outside the Sepang police station as he was being escorted by police.
Attorney General Mohamed Apandi Ali said Thursday that the suspect would be released due to “insufficient evidence.”
The man’s family has gone into hiding, local media reported Friday.
“I don’t know where they [Ri’s family] went. [His] wife and children left in a hurry. We are still in shock over what happened,” a neighbour in Ri’s condominium told Bernama news agency.
Ri graduated in 2011 from a North Korean university and had previously worked for a research centre in India, The Star reported.
Malaysian officials brought him to the immigration department Friday before processing his deportation to North Korea.
-dpa
