It seems that the death of Kim Jong-nam, half-brother of North Korea's dictator Kim Jong-un, was due to the use of a deadly poison. It also seems that the particular poison, VX nerve agent, is something which is most unlikely to have been available to anyone not closely associated with a national government.
The use of VX is outlawed by the United Nations which classifies it as being a 'weapon of mass destruction'; the tiniest amount absorbed through the skin is fatal within a few minutes. How this substance came to be in the possession of Kim Jong-nam's killer's is, of course, unknown but is certainly the subject of huge speculation. Given the vicious and murderous nature of the North Korean leadership, it must be likely that this killing was, in effect, a state-sponsored assassination for reasons unknown. Perhaps Kim Jong-nam was suspected of plotting against his half-brother or perhaps Kim Jong-un was simply continuing his campaign against anyone who may conceivably be a threat to his position.
Whatever the answers, it is surely time that China stopped supporting the appalling regime in North Korea and that the United Nations condemned them utterly. In a world which has far too many nasty rulers, Kim Jong-un must surely be the nastiest.
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