REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, KUALA LUMPUR -- VX nerve agent, a chemical on a U.N. list of weapons of mass destruction, was used to kill the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in last week's, Malaysian police said on Friday.

Kim Jong Nam died on Feb. 13 after being assaulted by two women who wiped the chemical on his face as he prepared to board a flight to Macau at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

South Korean and US officials have said they believe North Korean agents assassinated Kim Jong Nam, who had been living in the Chinese territory of Macau under Beijing's protection.

Malaysian police were investigating whether the illegal VX - believed to be the most toxic known nerve agent - was brought into the country or made there. Authorities intended to decontaminate the airport, along with other locations that suspects, three of whom were caught last week, had visited.

"We will get the experts from the atomic energy department to go to the location and sweep it to see if radioactive (material) is still there," police chief Khalid Abu Bakar told reporters, declining to elaborate.

It was unclear whether VX contains any radioactive elements. Police are holding the two women - one Vietnamese and the other Indonesian - along with a North Korean man. They are also seeking seven other North Koreans wanted in connection with the case, including a diplomat at the embassy in Kuala Lumpur.

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