New York-Bound Passenger Discovers Suspected 'Nerve Agent' at Airport

new york-bound passenger discovers suspected 'nerve agent' at airport

File: A special team of South Korean firefighters stage a drill for disasters such as toxic chemical leakage in a power plant in Seoul on April 16, 2013.

A chemical response team was dispatched to a South Korean airport on Thursday after a passenger bound for New York discovered a suspected "nerve agent" among her belongings.

Authorities at Incheon Airport said they were alerted to a "black powder" contained inside a transparent zipper bag, which the female passenger in her 20s, who was not identified, said she found in her carry-on luggage, reported South Korea's Yonhap news agency.

"I found something like coffee powder in my bag, but it's not mine," local media reports quoted her as saying in the transcript of her 6:33 a.m. call to the police.

A team specializing in hazardous materials and an explosive ordnance disposal unit were called to the airport's departure terminal.

A preliminary investigation on site confirmed that the bag contained 65 grams, or 2.3 ounces, of powder that "could potentially activate people's nervous systems in a toxic manner," according to the Korea JoongAng Daily.

The exact compounds were unknown; the "nerve agent" was being analyzed by South Korea's military, the newspaper said.

The police said there were no victims of the unidentified powder, and they believed the possibility of biochemical terrorism was low.

The woman's 9:30 a.m. flight to New York was not delayed, airport authorities said, but the passenger remained behind and was scheduled to depart on Friday.

Incheon, in the country's northwest, is located about 30 miles south of the demilitarized zone, the de facto inter-Korean border, but there were no immediate public links to Pyongyang.

In 2017, North Korea was accused of using the nerve agent VX to assassinate Kim Jong Nam, North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un's older half-brother, at Kuala Lumpur airport in Malaysia.

Kim Jong Nam had been living in exile for over a decade at the time, and he was believed to have been targeted by agents while preparing to board a flight to Macau. He was declared dead 20 minutes later.

Relations between Seoul and Pyongyang have soured in recent years, with the South accusing the North of repeated hacks of sensitive data, in addition to repeated ballistic missile tests otherwise prohibited by the U.N. Security Council.

The North says the South is threatening its national security by conducting pointed military exercises aimed at crippling its regime.

Earlier this month, South Korea's Foreign Ministry raised the terror alert levels at five overseas missions, citing the possibility of attacks on its diplomats by the North.

The notice out of Seoul said threat monitoring was increased at its embassies in Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, Lao capital Vientiane, and Vietnamese capital Hanoi, as well as at its consulates in Vladivostok in Russia's Far East and in Shenyang in northeastern China.

South Korea's Foreign Ministry could not be reached for comment.

Start your unlimited Newsweek trial

OTHER NEWS

8 minutes ago

Tasmania or Tanzania? Bindi Irwin's Cradle Mountain holiday blunder by US magazine People

8 minutes ago

Princess Anne: Her absence offers the most compelling warning of the dangers of a slimmed-down monarchy

8 minutes ago

Single parents have just days to report income changes to Centrelink before tax time

8 minutes ago

Last drinks for ‘world’s toughest pub’ in one of Australia’s biggest mining towns

8 minutes ago

Former TV presenter Liam Cox moves in with mum after alleged domestic violence

8 minutes ago

MTV’s ‘The Real World’ reality TV star Sarah Becker dies aged 52

8 minutes ago

Jared Padalecki had 'suicidal ideation' caused by struggles of Hollywood

8 minutes ago

Australian shares rally to two-week high as EOFY looms

8 minutes ago

2024 Ford E-Transit Custom MS-RT review

8 minutes ago

Shannen Doherty 'scared of the unknown' as she starts new round of cancer treatment

8 minutes ago

Vehicle-to-grid charging trial gets funding boost from Australian Government

8 minutes ago

Jayden Bowden: Stabber defends fatal attack on rapper Mak Muon in a Sydney Park

8 minutes ago

Channing Tatum says scrapped 23 Jump Street script is 'best he's ever read'

8 minutes ago

Journalist Antoinette Lattouf takes ABC to trial over unfair dismissal claims

8 minutes ago

Tesla Cybertruck crashes into house after alleged accelerator fault

8 minutes ago

Chinese probe returns with rocks from moon's far side

8 minutes ago

Will Smith to debut new song at BET Awards

9 minutes ago

India now has 533 passport application processing centres: Jaishankar

9 minutes ago

Panthers favored to win 2025 Stanley Cup; Oilers boast top-3 odds

9 minutes ago

He's only 28 but has revitalized France's far right: Meet the man who could be the country's next prime minister

9 minutes ago

China's premier defends national competitiveness as trade tensions simmer

9 minutes ago

Tech giants bet next-generation optical networks will reduce AI's climate impact, aid 6G transition

9 minutes ago

Video shows LA DA George Gascon’s right-hand man arrested in DUI stop: ‘You’ve pulled over the wrong person’

9 minutes ago

Brazil 0-0 Costa Rica - Copa America 2024: Vinicius Jr and co fail to win opening fixture after sluggish display

9 minutes ago

How Volvo became cool - five ways it ditched its bland reputation

9 minutes ago

Germany fans demand that Kai Havertz is axed for the knockout stages as 90 PER CENT vote for another star to replace him.... after frustrating performance against Switzerland

9 minutes ago

Dermott Brereton: AFL legend risks the wrath of footy fans by pinpointing why State of Origin is better than Aussie Rules

9 minutes ago

Christian McCaffrey and Olivia Culpo jet off for their wedding on Rhode Island as 49ers WAG gushes over romantic private plane... with their dog Oliver on board!

9 minutes ago

NADINE DORRIES: I wish I'd been as strong and forgiving as Kyle Walker's betrayed wife when I caught my husband kissing another woman

9 minutes ago

Video: Alex Jones defiantly insists 'Infowars is hard to kill' as bankruptcy court-appointed trustee moves to shutdown and sell off his notorious media empire to pay off $1.5 billion he owes Sandy Hook families

9 minutes ago

Music record labels sue AI song-generators Suno and Udio for copyright infringement

9 minutes ago

Maui ponders its future as leaders consider restricting vacation rentals loved by tourists

9 minutes ago

This week's televised debate is crucial for Biden and Trump — and for CNN as well

9 minutes ago

Vietnam's VinFast looks to tiny EV, priced at less than $10,000, to change its fortunes

9 minutes ago

Video: Confronting moment woman films Woollahra Municipal Council parking inspector she accused of physically assaulting her at Cross Street in Sydney's Double Bay

9 minutes ago

NTSB to discuss cause of fiery Ohio freight train wreck, recommend ways to avert future derailments

9 minutes ago

A Chinese lunar probe returns to Earth with first samples from far side of the moon

9 minutes ago

Amazon teams up with Megan Thee Stallion to promote its 10th Prime Day sales event

9 minutes ago

In defeat, Oilers' Connor McDavid wins Conn Smythe Trophy

9 minutes ago

Stock market today: Asian stocks follow Wall Street rise, but Nvidia tumbles again as AI mania cools