VX (O-ethyl S-[2-(diisopropylamino)ethyl] methylphosphonothioate) is a “persistent” nerve agent, meaning that it does not evaporate as quickly as  “non-persistent” aerosol nerve agents such as the G series agents (Sarin, Soman, Tabun, etc.) rather it lies on the ground like oily dew drops for hours and days and poisons people who come in contact with it through skin absorption and inhalation of the vapors. It was designed to be used as an area denial agent. It can create a deadly barrier when sprayed on a patch of ground. Sprayed on an airport it makes the airport unusable. If spayed on a supply dump all the supplies and equipment therein become unusable unless or until they are decontaminated with spray solutions made with Super Tropical Bleach (STB) or a chemical called DS2. Or in extremis, if the supplies are allowed to weather (exposed to sunlight, rain and wind) for days, or weeks. VX can be  delivered by bombs, rockets, missiles, artillery shells, mortar shells, mines or aircraft spray tanks. VX is extremely deadly.  It is the deadliest of all known nerve agents, it only takes a miniscule amount inhaled or absorbed through the skin to kill you. VX is an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor. To make a long story short it blocks the transmission of nerve signals and paralyzes the central nervous system, stopping the breathing and the heart beat. Much like cobra venom. It works very fast like cobra venom, death can occur within half an hour. VX weapons were outlawed by the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993 (North Korea is not as signatory). The complete destruction of the US inventory of VX munitions was completed on 24 December, 2008. VX poisoning is treated with the nerve agent antidote drugs atropine and pralidoxime (2-PAM), and a sedative/antiepileptic such as diazepam injected into the skin. These drugs block the ability of nerve agents to block nerve signals until the body can flush the poison out of its system. NATO militaries use auto-injectors to deliver the drugs. The best protection of course is to wear a protective mask (AKA gas mask) with a complete head cover and chemical protective clothing , including boots and gloves. The very first sign of nerve agent poisoning is pin-pointed pupils. In yourself you can recognize this as dimming vision. It’s the middle of the day and suddenly it’s getting dark. When that happens use your auto-injectors immediately and then put on protective mask and clothing to prevent further contamination. Oh, you left all that stuff at home, you say? Well you’re a goner now. Prepare yourself, you know that you must, gotta have a friend in Je-sus…

  Using VX in an assassination is clearly over-kill. Not to mention the fact that it is extremely dangerous to handle. Spill any on yourself and you’re done, unless you have some auto-injectors handy. One wonders what the point was, other than that perhaps the "Youth Captain” wanted to make certain Kim Jong Nam couldn’t possibly survive? Or make some kind of horrific example out of him?

“In the airport attack , a series of grainy images taken by security cameras show two women — identified by police as an Indonesian and a Vietnamese — rub something on Kim's face before swiftly walking away in opposite directions. Malaysian national police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said the women had been trained to go straight to washrooms and clean their hands afterward. But he told reporters that one of the women — he declined to say which one — had gotten sick and began vomiting in the aftermath of the attack.”

“The security video shows Kim, who appeared unhurt in the first minutes after the attack, gesturing to his face as he spoke to airport employees and security guards. They escorted him to the airport's medical clinic. He died soon afterward, suffering seizures as an ambulance took him to a nearby hospital.”

“The two alleged attackers are in custody, along with a North Korean man believed to be an information technology worker at a Malaysian herbal supplements company. Police are looking for at least seven other North Koreans, including the second secretary of North Korea's embassy in Kuala Lumpur. Using foreign women to carry out an attack would seem to be a departure for North Korea, though it is known to have used women in high-profile attacks before.”

Malaysia: VX nerve agent killed outcast North Korean scion