Malaysia to sweep Kuala Lumpur airport for "radioactive" material

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Malaysia to sweep Kuala Lumpur airport for "radioactive" material

REUTERS

 

A still image from a CCTV footage appears to show (circled in red) a man purported to be Kim Jong Nam being accosted by a woman in a white shirt at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia on February 13, 2017. FUJITV/via Reuters TV

 

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian authorities will sweep the international airport and other locations for radioactive material, the police chief said on Friday, following the murder of Kim Jong Nam in which VX nerve agent, a highly toxic chemical, was used.

 

"(We are looking to) sweep all locations that we knew the suspects went to. We will get the experts from the atomic energy department to go to the location and sweep it to see if radioactive (material) is still there," police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said.

 

It was the first time police had mentioned "radioactive material" and he did not elaborate on what could "still" be there.

 

Kim, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, died after being assaulted at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Feb. 13.

 

Authorities found traces of VX, classified as a weapon of mass destruction by the United Nations, on the body.

 

(Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; Writing by Kanupriya Kapoor; Editing by Nick Macfie)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-02-24