Kuala Lumpur – Two women who stand accused of killing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s half brother, Kim Jong Nam, in a Malaysian airport are expected to appear in court on Thursday.
Both are charged with carrying out the murder on February 13, which caught worldwide attention and sparked a diplomatic row between Malaysia and North Korea.
Doan Thi Huong, a 29-year-old Vietnamese woman, and Siti Aishah, a 25-year-old Indonesian woman, allegedly poisoned Kim by wiping a highly toxic chemical nerve agent on his face at Kuala Lumpur’s international airport.
The VX nerve agent used is classified as a weapon of mass destruction by the United Nations.
The Indonesian suspect has said she thought she was carrying out a prank for a television show, and that the poisonous liquid given to her was baby oil, Indonesian embassy officials previously said.
Malaysia and North Korea became embroiled in a bitter row and experienced a diplomatic falling out after Kim, the estranged half brother of the North Korean leader, was killed.
Relations improved however after Kim’s body was sent back to Pyongyang at the end of March in an agreement that also saw nine detained Malaysians return home.
-dpa
