PETALING JAYA – In denying its own involvement, North Korea has accused South Korea and the United States of killing one of its citizens.
Yonhap, the largest news agency in South Korea, reported that the deceased was not acknowledged as the half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
In a dispatch from Pyongyang, the North’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the person murdered was a North Korean named ‘Kim Chol’ who carried a diplomatic passport.
“The cause of his death has not yet been clearly identified, but the US and the South Korean authorities are groundlessly blaming the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) by asserting that he was intoxicated by the highly poisonous VX nerve substance,” the KCNA report said.
Read also: Kim Jong-nam’s last words – ‘Very painful. I was sprayed with liquid’
N Korean nabbed in Kim Jong Nam murder case is chemistry expert
The state news agency then accused the US or South Korea of using the nerve agent to kill the North Korean.
“Almost all countries have scrapped chemical weapons under the convention on ban on chemical weapons, but only the US and some other countries still possess the said substance,” said KNCA in its report.
It added that the US is “introducing into South Korea all kinds of chemical weapons.”
The KCNA report further claimed that the murder was an act staged by Seoul and Washington in an attempt to stir up international hatred against the North, and start a nuclear war against the communist state.
Kim Jong-nam, whom North Korea refers to as Kim Chol, was killed on Feb 13 at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2) after two women – which Yonhap reported was believed to have been hired by the communist North – allegedly smeared the nerve agent on his face.
Read also: North Korean leader’s half-brother poisoned to death before flight
Malaysian court charges two women with Kim Jong-nam murder
KCNA, however, is adamant that the agent is not VX.
“World media query that if component of VX was allegedly detected from Kim Chol’s eyes and lips, the ambulance that carried him and police who guarded him must have all been intoxicated and if so, the airport should have been closed but it is still in operation,” said the state news agency.
This dispatch also came with a warning: “The US and its vassal forces should not run amuck, clearly understanding the strategic position of the DPRK as a nuclear power.”
