Malaysian police mentioned Saturday that they would issue an arrest warrant for a North Korean diplomat if he refuses to cooperate with the investigation into the deadly attack on North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un's exiled half brother.
The investigation has unleashed a critical diplomatic fight involving Malaysia and North Korea, a prime suspect in the Feb. 13 killing of Kim Jong Nam at Kuala Lumpur's airport. Friday's revelation by Malaysian police that the banned chemical weapon VX nerve agent was used to kill Kim raised the stakes considerably in a case that has broad geopolitical implications.
Police stated Saturday that they would conduct a sweep of the airport terminal where Kim was killed to check for attainable traces of VX.
Authorities say the nerve agent made use of in the attack was nearly definitely developed in a sophisticated state weapons laboratory and is banned below an international treaty. But North Korea in no way signed that treaty, and has spent decades establishing a complicated chemical weapons program.
Kim was not an obvious political threat to his estranged half brother, Kim Jong Un. But he could have been seen as a potential rival in North Korea's dynastic dictatorship, even although he had lived in exile for years. North Korea has denied any part in the attack.
Malaysia said earlier in the week that Hyon Kwang Song, a second secretary at the North Korean Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, was wanted for questioning. But authorities acknowledged at the time that he has diplomatic immunity and that they couldn't compel him to appear.
On Saturday, Malaysia's tone changed.
Abdul Samah Mat, the police chief top the investigation, stated authorities would give the diplomat "reasonable" time to come forward. If he does not, he stated, police will issue a notice compelling him to do so.
"And if he failed to turn up ... then we will go to the subsequent step by receiving a warrant of arrest from the court," Abdul Samah told reporters.
Lawyer Sankara Nair, however, noted that diplomats have immunity privileges even in criminal instances.
"If he is a Korean diplomat with a diplomatic passport, then he has immunity no matter a criminal case or otherwise," he mentioned. "Police can apply for a warrant, but it can conveniently be set aside by the embassy."
Malaysia hasn't directly accused the North Korean government of getting behind the attack, but officials have stated four North Korean men offered two girls with poison to carry it out.
The 4 guys fled Malaysia shortly after the killing, though the ladies — 1 from Indonesia and the other Vietnamese — have been arrested.
On Saturday, the Indonesian suspect, Siti Aisyah, met with her country's deputy ambassador to Malaysia, saying she had been paid the equivalent of $90 for what she believed was a harmless prank.
Aisyah, 25, mentioned she had been introduced to folks who looked like Japanese or Koreans who asked her to play a prank for a reality show, Deputy Ambassador Andriano Erwin mentioned.
Asked about no matter if she knew what was on her hands at the time of the attack, Erwin said: "She didn't tell us about that. She only said that it is a sort of oil, baby oil, some thing like that."
The Vietnamese lady who was arrested, Doan Thi Huong, also thought she was taking portion in a prank, Vietnam's foreign ministry stated Saturday, after a representative from the Vietnamese Embassy in Malaysia met with Huong.
An odorless chemical with the consistency of motor oil, VX is an incredibly powerful poison, with an amount no larger than a few grains of salt adequate to kill. It can be inhaled, swallowed or absorbed via the skin. Then, in anywhere from a few seconds to a handful of hours, it can lead to a variety of symptoms, from blurred vision to a headache. Sufficient exposure leads to convulsions, paralysis, respiratory failure and death.
The killing of Kim Jong Nam took location amid crowds of travelers at Kuala Lumpur's airport and appeared to be a effectively-planned hit. Kim died on the way to a hospital, within hours of the attack.
In grainy surveillance footage, the women seem to smear something onto Kim's face just before walking away in separate directions. Malaysian police mentioned the attackers had been trained to go straight away to the bathroom and clean their hands.
Aisyah has stated previously that she was duped into the attack, but Malaysian police say the suspects knew what they have been doing. Authorities say the females must have taken precautions so the nerve agent wouldn't kill them.
An antidote, atropine, can be injected right after exposure and is carried by medics in war zones where weapons of mass destruction are suspected.
Tens of thousands of passengers have passed by means of Kuala Lumpur's airport given that the apparent assassination was carried out. No places had been cordoned off and protective measures have been not taken.
Late Saturday, having said that, police mentioned they would start a sweep of the price range terminal exactly where Kim was attacked to check for traces of VX.
The sweep was scheduled to start off at 1 a.m. Sunday and was to involve officers from the police's chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear teams, as effectively as the fire department's hazardous supplies unit and the government's atomic energy board. Though VX is not radioactive, police said the radiological group and the atomic power board would be involved as a precaution.
Also Saturday, police confirmed that a raid earlier in the week on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur was aspect of the investigation. Abdul Samah, the police official, did not specify what authorities found there, but mentioned the items have been being tested for traces of any chemicals.
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
