DPRK dismisses ridiculous claims of a chemical weapons assassination

It is half a month since Kim Chol, a citizen of the DPRK bearing a diplomatic passport, died in Malaysia on 13 February.

The cause of his death has not yet been clearly identified, but the US and the south Korean authorities are groundlessly blaming the DPRK, asserting that he was intoxicated by the highly poisonous VX nerve substance.

The absurdity of the US and the south Korean authorities’ assertion and lack of its scientific accuracy and logical coherence are proven even by comments made by experts and media of other countries.

Yet it is the view of chemists of many countries that just a single drop of VX could result in the deaths of tens or hundreds of people, and that the liquid is characterised by strong permeability and stability.

The claim that the woman suspect was safe from these consequences because she washed her hands at a washroom does not correspond with the chemical properties of VX. Chemists have pointed out that even if the persons suspected of murder had been injected with atropine, the basic antidote of VX, they might have fallen into shock as a result of coming into contact with the fatal substance, and that even if they had worn gloves, it would have been extremely dangerous.

It is, therefore, the height of absurdity to claim that the person who applied VX, a substance fatal even in the case of inhalation of a tiny amount, or of the slightest touch of it on the skin, was left unaffected, while only the person to whom it was allegedly applied met death.

Many world media have queried how, if VX was detected on Kim Chol’s eyes and lips, the ambulance that carried him and the police who guarded him were not intoxicated. In such a case, the airport would have had to be closed, yet it is still in operation.

Experts on international law and political analysts have pointed out that under international regulations regarding the control of chemical weapons, a final conclusion on the results of the analysis of an alleged use of such weapons can only be on the basis of identical results being obtained by at least two specialised laboratories, stressing that the recent case should have been reported to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the relevant sample should have been analysed at a lab designated by that organisation.

They further contended that if the use of VX were confirmed, it would be necessary to investigate where the substance was from, who made it and who handled it.

Drawing any conclusions about VX without such a concrete study would be unscientific, they said, and warned that severe results would arise from any countries trying to use such a conclusion for political purposes.

Some media suspect that, in view of the fact that the women arrested as suspected murderers had visited south Korea several times in the past, it is highly possible that the south Korean authorities let them carry the said substance. This is by no means fortuitous.

Almost all countries have scrapped chemical weapons under the Chemical Weapons Convention, so that now only the US and a handful of other countries still possess the said substance. What is all the more problematic is the fact that the US is introducing into south Korea all kinds of chemical weapons.

This being a hard fact, the US and the south Korean authorities are kicking up an anti-DPRK smear campaign in order to divert people from grasping the true situation.

From the beginning, the south Korean authorities spread rumour that the “death of Kim Chol was as a result of intoxication by two women secret agents sent by the general reconnaissance bureau of north Korea”, claiming that “their dead bodies will appear”. These statements have caused much confusion and are driving a wedge between the DPRK and Malaysia.

Lately, the south Koreans and US imperialists have tried to use Kim Chol’s death for their stepped-up racket of ‘human rights violations’ against the DPRK. They have floated the story about ‘use of chemical weapons’ or ‘use of WMD’ in a bid to create an atmosphere of international criticism of the DPRK.

The reckless moves of the US and the south Korean authorities are aimed at tarnishing the image of the DPRK and bringing down its social system. This is clear to everyone.

The danger and gravity of the problem lie in that the story about ‘use of chemical weapons’ touted by the US and the south Korean authorities has something in common with the story of ‘Iraq’s possession of weapons of mass destruction’ spread by the US in the 1990s.

It is the final aim sought by the US to stir up international repugnancy towards the DPRK, lay an international siege against it and, ultimately, to provoke a nuclear war against the DPRK at any cost.

The US, however, is mistaken.

Should the US and the south Korean authorities keep resorting to political chicanery to bring down the social system in the DPRK, being lost to reason, the DPRK will be compelled to take stronger measures for self-defence in order to protect the sovereignty and dignity of its people.