Sweep of klia2 for toxic chemicals at 1am tonight

Areas being searched will be cordoned off but the airport will function as normal.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will sweep the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (klia2) for toxic chemicals after Kim Jong Nam was murdered there with a nerve agent last week.

The authorities also said they would issue an arrest warrant if a North Korean diplomat wanted over the death did not come forward.

Jong Nam was murdered on Feb 13 at the budget terminal with VX nerve agent, a chemical classified by the United Nations as a weapon of mass destruction.

The police forensic team, fire department and the Atomic Energy Licensing Board will be conducting the sweep at the airport, Malaysian police said in a statement today.

The sweep will be conducted from 1am tonight.

The airport terminal will not be closed, but the search areas would be cordoned off, a police official told Reuters.

VX is one of the deadliest chemical weapons created by man. Just 10 mg of the nerve agent or a single drop is enough to kill in minutes, experts have said.

Jong Nam was waiting at the departure hall when he was attacked by two women who splashed his face with the liquid. He died en route to hospital.

Malaysian police on Friday said one of the women had suffered from the effects of VX and had been vomiting.

The two women – one Indonesian and one Vietnamese – have been detained, along with a North Korean man. Seven other North Koreans have been named as suspects or are wanted for questioning.

Malaysian police are also sweeping other locations in Kuala Lumpur the suspects may have visited.

Selangor state police chief Abdul Samah Mat said earlier today authorities raided an apartment in an upscale Kuala Lumpur suburb earlier this week in connection with the killing, and were checking for any traces of chemicals in the apartment.

Diplomat wanted

Samah also said 44-year-old Hyon Kwang Song, a second secretary at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur, wanted for questioning in the murder has yet to come forward. He is one of the seven North Koreans wanted in connection with the case.

“Reasonable” time will be given for the diplomat to come forward before police take further action, Samah said, adding that if the diplomat did not cooperate, the police would issue a notice under Malaysian law, compelling him to appear before the investigation team.

“And if he fails to turn up upon given this notice, then we will go to the next step by getting a warrant of arrest from the court,” he told reporters.

It was unclear if the embassy official can be detained since police have said he has diplomatic immunity.

Four others are believed to have fled to North Korea, while two are still in Malaysia. The whereabouts of another North Korean, Ri Ji U, are unknown, Samah said.

Indonesian embassy officials on Saturday met with their national Siti Aishah – one of the suspects detained in connection with the murder – for the first time since her arrest.

Aishah told embassy officials that she believed she was part of a reality television show when she lunged at Jong Nam at the airport with what she believed was baby oil. She said she was paid RM400.

Malaysian police have said the two women had rehearsed the attack before carrying it out and had been instructed to wash their hands afterwards.

The Vietnamese woman arrested also claimed she was taking part in a prank video, Vietnam’s foreign ministry said today.

Vietnamese embassy officials met Doan Thi Huong today.

“Her health is stable. During the meeting with embassy officials, Doan Thi Huong said she was being taken advantage of and thought she was starring in a comedy video,” the foreign ministry statement said. -FMT