Malaysia to charge women for airport murder of North Korean leader's brother

Two women implicated in the killing of the estranged brother of North Korea's leader are to be charged with murder on Wednesday, Malaysia's prosecutor has said

Doan Thi Huong (left) and Siti Aisyah have said they thought they were taking part in a TV prank
Doan Thi Huong (left) and Siti Aisyah have said they thought they were taking part in a TV prank

Two women - an Indonesian and a Vietnamese - will be charged with murder on Wednesday over their alleged involvement in the killing of the estranged half-brother of North Korea's leader at Kuala Lumpur's main airport, Malaysia's attorney general said.

Police have said that the women smeared VX nerve agent, a chemical on a UN list of weapons of mass destruction, on Kim Jong Nam's face in an assault recorded on airport security cameras on 13 February.

Attorney General Mohamed Apandi Ali said the women could face death if convicted.

"They will be charged in court under Section 302 of the penal code," the attorney general said, confirming that they would face a mandatory death sentence if found guilty.

Both women have told diplomats from their countries that they had been paid to take part in what they believed was a prank for a reality TV show.

Ali said no decision had yet been taken on whether to charge a North Korean man, who is also being held over the killing.

The two women - Doan Thi Huong, 28, from Vietnam and Siti Aisyah, 25, from Indonesia - are among some 10 suspects identified by Malaysia as being involved in the killing.

The suspects include a senior official at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur and a staff member of the state airline. South Korea believes at least four suspects are North Korean spies.

US and South Korean officials believe Kim Jong Nam was the victim of an assassination orchestrated by North Korea. He had criticised the regime of his family and his half-brother Kim Jong Un in the past and had been living in exile, under Beijing's protection, in the Chinese territory of Macau.

The security camera footage, which has been released in the media, showed two women assaulting Kim Jong Nam in the departure hall of Kuala Lumpur International Airport, and the victim stumbling into a medical clinic. He died within 20 minutes of the assault.