Explainer: VX nerve agent behind Kim Jong-un's half-brother's death

Kim Jong-nam had claimed before dying that a woman sprayed his face with chemicals at an airport

The substance that could be responsible for the death Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was the VX nerve agent, according to preliminary reports from Malaysian police.

Kim Jong-nam died on February 13 from a seizure on his way to hospital after complaining that a woman had sprayed chemicals on his face at Kuala Lumpur airport.

The Royal Malaysia Police said in a statement that the results of dry swab tests on the “death of a North Korean national” identified the chemical as “Ethyl S-2-Diisopropylaminoethyl Methylphosphonothiolate”, also known as “VX nerve agent”.

What is VX?

VX