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(CNN)The chemical substance used to kill Kim Jong Nam was VX nerve agent, according to a preliminary report by the Chemistry Department of Malaysia, Malaysian police said in a statement Friday.
Kim, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, died February 13 before he was scheduled to board a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Macau.
The Royal Malaysian Police say that two women approached him from behind and wiped his face with some sort of substance.
They were instructed by four North Koreans, who are believed to have returned to Pyongyang, Malaysian Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar said at a news conference Wednesday
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The North Korean embassy rejected the hypothesis, saying that the women would be dead if they had put a lethal chemical on their hands.
Nerve agents are the most toxic and fast-acting substance known in chemical warfare -- and VX is the most potent of all of them, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"If it's inhaled as a vapor, (the victim) very quickly becomes what is called, crudely, a body flopper. You'll be on the ground with your arms and legs twitching unable to breathe," former United Nations weapons inspector David Kay told CNN in 1998. "You will lose control of your stomach. It's not a very pleasant way to die."
It works by inhibiting the operation of an enzyme that helps the body's nervous system function, according to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
The suspects
Malaysia authorities have named 11 people in connection with their investigation, though not all are considered suspects.
Three are currently in custody. One is a North Korean man, and two are the women who police believe wiped Kim's face: Siti Aishah of Indonesia and Doan Thi Huong of Vietnam.
Indonesian police said last week that Aishah believed she was participating in a prank for a TV show, but that was adamantly shot down by Bakar at his Wednesday news conference.
"These two ladies were trained to swab the deceased's face," he said. "They knew it was toxic."
Denials and diplomatic fallout
Diplomatic ties between North Korea and Malaysia are growing increasingly frayed over the investigation.
North Korea has accused Malaysia of being unduly influenced by South Korea's early claim that Kim was poisoned by the North.
North Korea's ambassador to Malaysia, Kang Chol, accused his host country of conspiring with "hostile forces," prompting the Malaysian Prime Minister to recall his ambassador to Pyongyang and summon Kang.
An article published in North Korean state media Thursday fiercely rebuked Malaysia for its continued refusal to hand over Kim's body without DNA from a next of kin.
"This proves that the Malaysian side is going to politicize the transfer of the body in utter disregard of international law and morality and thus attain a sinister purpose," Thursday's article said.
Bakar, the Malaysian police inspector-general, accused North Korea of impeding the investigation.
He said Wednesday that the North Koreans had neither responded to requests to hand over the four suspects in Pyongyang, nor had they helped police find three North Koreans believed to be in Malaysia -- including an embassy employee -- who are wanted for questioning.
If the three who police think are still in Malaysia do not come forward, they will seek arrest warrants, Bakar said.
The Malaysians have requested help from Interpol, asking the international police organization to put out an alert for the four suspects believed to have trained Aishah and Huong and then returned to Pyongyang.
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