A sensitive and selective optical technique to detect potassium chloride (KCl) vapor is introduced. The technique is based on the photofragmentation of KCl molecules, using a pulsed UV laser, and optical probing of the temporarily increased amount of potassium atoms with a near-infrared laser. The two laser beams are aligned to go through the sample volume along the same optical path. The performance of the technique is demonstrated by detecting KCl concentrations from 25 ppb to 30 ppm in a temperature-controlled cell.