Two women suspected of murdering North Korean leader’s estranged half-brother to appear in court

Two women suspected of murdering the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are due to appear in a court in Malaysian court on May 30. Photo grabbed from Reuters video files.
Two women suspected of murdering the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are due to appear in court on May 30. (From Reuters video file)

(Reuters) – Two women suspected of murdering the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are due to appear in a Malaysian court on May 30.

Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong and Indonesian Siti Aishah face the death penalty if they are convicted of killing Kim Jong Nam.

The two allegedly smeared VX nerve agent, a chemical described by the United Nations as a weapon of mass destruction, across Kim’s face at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on February 13.

Both have claimed innocence. Aishah and Huong have told their respective diplomats that they were unwitting pawns in an assassination that United States officials and South Korean intelligence have said was organized by North Korean agents.