will rise again
be considered within the NK dimension, or as part of the NK-Iranian one. Each of these has its own significance. Apart from this, NK is markedly
alone in the world. China, an old, fundamentally loyal patron of NK apparently did not support the NK nuclear programme, although the NK missile programme has enjoyed Chinese support in the past. But the equation now formed by the US delivers a plain message; namely, NK should be restrained peacefully by China, or, alternatively, by the US, either diplomatically or violently. The latter has potentially colossal implications, taking into account NK’s offensive CBN capabilities together with its ruler's personality. The US thereby expects China to efficiently halt NK’s growing nuclear and ballistic progress, though this might be a mission impossible. At any rate, NK’s CW and BW arsenals are, unfortunately, likely to remain intact, A recent practical demonstration of
NK’s CW capabilities combined three major elements, namely, a top level political assassination, a first class nerve agent, and a guerrilla warfare operation that took place far beyond NK’s borders. Directly involving the ruler Kim Jong- un, his estranged half-brother Kim Jong-nam was murdered in Kuala Lumpur's main airport last February by two female operatives, one Indonesian and the other Vietnamese. Kim Jong- nam died shortly after being assaulted by the two women, who wiped VX nerve agent on his face as he prepared to board a flight to the Chinese territory of Macau. Traces of VX, or S-2 diisopropylaminoethyl methyl- phosphonothioate, were found on swabs taken from the victim’s eye and face. Kim Jong-nam had been living with
his family in Macau under Beijing's protection, and had spoken out against the NK regime. The two women were detained, along with a NK man. Seven
other North Koreans were wanted in connection with the case, including a diplomat at the embassy in Kuala Lumpur. The two women were paid to carry out the assault and had been told to wash their hands before fleeing the airport. They had rehearsed the attack in shopping malls before carrying it out on Kim. They have insisted, though, that they thought they were taking part in a prank TV show. The highly lethal
substance had most probably been smuggled somehow from NK to Malaysia, which is a quite intriguingly risky move in itself. Of the eight potential suspects six were from NK’s ministry of state security or the country's foreign affairs ministry. They flew from Kuala Lumpur airport
DPRK is mainly known for its nuclear capability, but it also has a buoyant CBW one ©DoD
www.cbrneworld.com CBRNe Convergence, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indiana, USA, 6 - 8 Nov 2017
www.cbrneworld.com/convergence2017
June 2017 CBRNe WORLD
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