Kuala Lumpur, Dec 1 (AFP) North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un's half-brother was carrying a VX 'antidote' when he wasassassinated with the deadly nerve agent in a stunning ColdWar-style hit, a lawyer said today.
Kim Jong-Nam had 12 tablets of Atropine in his backpackwhen he was attacked, said defence lawyer Gooi Soon Seng,citing testimony from the ongoing trial of the two womenaccused of killing him.
Indonesian Siti Aisyah and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong, intheir 20s, allegedly carried out the hit at the Kuala LumpurInternational Airport on February 13 as Kim waited to board aflight to Macau.
Kim died in agony shortly after the VX -- so deadly it isclassified by the United Nations as a weapon of massdestruction -- was wiped on his face.
The pair, who were arrested days after the assassinationand face death by hanging if convicted, pleaded not guilty tomurdering Kim Jong-Un's estranged half-brother at the start oftheir trial in October.
The women say they were tricked into believing they weretaking part in a prank for a reality TV show, and theirlawyers have blamed North Korean agents.
A poison expert from the Malaysian government testifiedthis week that Kim was carrying Atropine, which has severalmedical uses including treatment for people who have beenattacked with nerve agents such as VX.
K Sharmilah told the Shah Alam High Court that the policesent items from the case for her to test, including a bottlecontaining 12 white tablets that she concluded were Atropine.
While it can be used against VX, it also has other usessuch as treating stomach cramps.
Gooi, who is defending Aisyah, added that the "motive andreason (why Kim was carrying Atropine) was never established".
Kim's murder sparked a furious row between Malaysia andNorth Korea, which was suspected of ordering theassassination. Pyongyang has denied the allegation.(AFP)AMS.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.