Two women accused in the assassination case of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s half brother on Monday pleaded not guilty at the start of the murder trial in a Malaysian court, AP reported. Siti Aisyah of Indonesia and Doan Thi Huon of Vietnam have been charged with spraying with VX, a banned chemical poison, on Kim Jong-nam’s face at the Kuala Lumpur airport on February 13.
The two women, who face the death penalty if convicted, have claimed that they were tricked by North Korean agents into smearing Kim Jong-nam’s face with the toxic agent. The women had told their lawyers that they were asked to carry out the act as part of a prank for a reality TV show, Reuters reported. Their lawyers demanded that the prosecution reveal the identities of four other suspects in the case who are yet to be apprehended.
The prosecution said the actions of the women, as well as the four other suspects, showed an “intent to kill the victim” by smearing Kim Jong-nam’s face and eyes with the poison.
Politics in the family
Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of late dictator Kim Jong-il, had challenged his half brother’s succession to the top post. Officials said Kim Jong-nam had been trying to take over the isolated nation. He had been living in Macau under Chinese protection after a reported dispute with his father over his attempt to enter Japan with a fake passport, South Korea’s intelligence agency had earlier said.
CCTV footage had showed the two women attacking Kim with “poisoned needles” before fleeing the scene.
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