Shah Alam, Malaysia: The estranged half brother of North Korea's leader had about 1.4 times the lethal dosage of VX nerve agent on his face after he was attacked at a Malaysian airport terminal, a government chemist says.

Pure VX was on Kim Jon-nam's body, in his eye and in his blood plasma, government chemist Raja Subramaniam said at the murder trial of two women accused of smearing the chemical weapon on Kim in a brazen assassination in February.

A sign shows images of Kim Jong-un, right, and his older brother Kim Jong-nam during a campaign to improve human rights condition in North Korea, in Seoul, South Korea last week. Credit:Ahn Young-joon/AP

VX was also detected on the clothes both women wore the day of the attack.

The trial on Monday had temporarily moved to a high-security government laboratory for the judge, attorneys and the defendants to examine the clothing before it was presented as evidence.