The Airport Assassination That Shook the World
Nine years ago today, a routine day at Kuala Lumpur International Airport turned into the scene of a chilling international assassination. Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, was murdered in a meticulously planned attack using one of the world's deadliest chemical weapons.
A Deadly Encounter at the Budget Terminal
On the morning of February 13, 2017, Kim Jong-nam—traveling under the alias Kim Chol—was waiting for his flight to Macau in the budget airlines terminal. Dressed casually in a blue polo shirt and jeans, he blended with other travelers until approximately 9:00 AM when a woman suddenly approached and smeared an oily substance across his face before rushing away.
Moments later, a second woman appeared, covering his eyes with her hands and sliding them down over his mouth before apologizing and disappearing into the crowd. Already experiencing dizziness and pain, Kim located an airport receptionist to report the incident and was quickly rushed on a stretcher to the medical clinic.
The Rapid Onset of VX Nerve Agent Poisoning
Medical staff described Kim as sweating, unresponsive, and in obvious distress. Despite receiving emergency treatment including atropine, adrenaline, and tracheal intubation, he passed away less than half an hour after the attack. An autopsy would later confirm he had been exposed to VX nerve agent, a chemical weapon so lethal that just milligrams can be fatal.
The toxic agent caused the collapse of his lungs, brain, liver, and spleen, along with pupil constriction and involuntary defecation. VX works by blocking the acetylcholinesterase enzyme, triggering rapid respiratory failure—a mechanism that proved devastatingly effective in this assassination.
The Unwitting Assassins and Their Orchestrators
Malaysian authorities quickly identified two women through CCTV footage: Đoàn Thị Hương, a 28-year-old Vietnamese citizen, and Siti Aisyah, a 25-year-old Indonesian. Both women insisted they believed they were participating in an innocent practical joke for a television program, having been recruited months earlier by men posing as Japanese, Chinese, or South Korean TV producers.
Police investigations revealed Aisyah had performed similar "pranks" on at least 10 separate occasions, while Hương had done so four times. Each woman was offered US$100 for the airport operation. CCTV footage captured them washing their hands in airport bathrooms immediately after the attack—instructions consistent with handling VX residue.
The Chemical Weapon Delivery System
Prosecutors ultimately accepted that the women had been unknowingly exploited as delivery mechanisms for the nerve agent. Each carried one non-lethal component which, when combined on Kim's face, became the deadly VX mixture. This sophisticated method allowed the perpetrators to transport the chemical weapon through airport security without detection.
When authorities searched Kim's belongings, they discovered approximately US$100,000 in currency and four North Korean passports, each displaying the name Kim Chol. His true identity was only confirmed a month later through DNA matching with his son, Kim Han-sol.
Legal Proceedings and Diplomatic Fallout
Both women initially faced murder charges punishable by death under Malaysia's legal system. However, in March 2019, Aisyah's murder charge was dropped following intervention from the Indonesian government. Hương was jailed but her charge was subsequently reduced; she pleaded guilty to causing hurt with dangerous weapons and was released in May 2019.
The assassination triggered one of the most serious diplomatic standoffs in North Korean or Malaysian history. Malaysia scrapped visa-free access for North Koreans and ejected their ambassador, while Pyongyang prevented Malaysian nationals from departing North Korea. Relations only began to thaw when Kim Jong-nam's remains were handed over to his relatives.
North Korean Involvement and International Response
Investigators identified the primary suspects as North Korean nationals, including an individual named Ri Ji-u who appeared in Aisyah's mobile contacts under the pseudonym "James." Four North Korean men—later identified as intelligence agents—were captured on CCTV departing Malaysia just hours after the attack, traveling through Jakarta, Dubai, and Vladivostok before reaching Pyongyang.
North Korea denied responsibility, claiming Kim died of a heart attack—a claim Malaysian police dismissed while working with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to identify the lethal substance. Intelligence officials from South Korea revealed that Kim Jong-un had issued a permanent directive for his half-brother's elimination, and this wasn't their first assassination attempt.
In 2019, the Wall Street Journal disclosed that Kim Jong-nam had been working as an informant for the CIA, strengthening suspicions that his killing was state-orchestrated. The murder provoked worldwide condemnation, with South Korean authorities characterizing it as proof of Kim Jong-un's "reign of terror" and the United States redesignating North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism—citing the assassination among the justifications.
A Brother's Dangerous Exile
Kim Jong-nam had been living outside North Korea since 2003 and was vocally disapproving of his family's authoritarian rule. As the eldest son of Kim Jong-il, he was initially anticipated to follow his father's footsteps and become North Korea's supreme leader before falling out of favor. His public criticism of the regime and alleged CIA connections made him a target in what remains one of the most brazen chemical weapon attacks on foreign soil.
