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Reuters

Malaysia on Wednesday charged two women - an Indonesian and a Vietnamese - with murdering the estranged half brother of North Korea’s leader in an assassination using a super-toxic nerve agent that killed in minutes.
Siti Aishah, a 25-year-old mother of one from Jakarta, and Doan Thi Huong, 28, from rural northern Vietnam, could be hanged if they are convicted for the killing of Kim Jong Nam at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on February 13.
Police brought the two women to court handcuffed. As they left, they were made to wear bulletproof vests, reflecting Malaysian authorities’ fears that others involved in the killing could want the women silenced.

No plea was recorded after the charges were read out against them.
But, Aishah and Huong have told diplomats who visited them in custody that they were unwitting pawns in an assassination that US officials and South Korean intelligence have said was organised by North Korean agents.
Huong’s lawyer told reporters outside the court that his client had told him she was innocent.
“She denied. She denied. She said ‘I’m innocent’,” Selvam Shanmugam said.
“Of course, she’s definitely distressed because she is facing death penalty,” he added.
The next court date will be on April 13, when prosecutors will apply for the accused to be tried jointly.

Kim Jong-nam, who had criticised the regime of his family and his half-brother Kim Jong-un, died after the two women allegedly smeared VX nerve agent, a chemical described by the United Nations as a weapon of mass destruction, across his face.
He had been preparing to catch a flight to Macau where he had been living under Beijing’s protection since going into exile several years ago.
According to the charges the women and four unnamed people, who are still at large, were in the airport departure, with the intention to murder the North Korean citizen.
One North Korean man, identified by police as Ri Jong-chol, is still in police custody and has not been charged yet. Police have identified seven other North Koreans wanted in connection with the case, including an embassy official in Kuala Lumpur.
Amid a bitter diplomatic row, members of Malaysia’s cabinet met with a high level North Korean delegation that arrived on Tuesday to press for the release of the citizen in custody, and for the body to be handed over.

Health Minister Subramaniam Sathasivam said he was not at that meeting, but a decision would eventually be made on what to do with the body as no next of kin had come forward for formal identification.
North Korea maintains the victim is a North Korean citizen, but denies he is the half brother of its leader Kim Jong-un.
South Korea’s foreign minister told a UN sponsored disarmament conference in Geneva on Tuesday that its unpredictable, nuclear-armed neighbour has thousands of tonnes of chemical weapons, including VX.
Yun Byung-se called for “collective measures” against North Korea, including possible suspension of its UN membership.

Security camera footage, which has been broadcast in the media, showed two women assaulting Kim Jong-nam at the airport around 20 minutes before he died.
Both women have told diplomats from their countries that they had believed they were carrying out a prank for a reality television show. Indonesian diplomats said Aishah told them she was paid around $90 by whoever tricked her into taking part.
Malaysian police have said the suspects had washed their hands after the assault, and were aware that the liquid smeared on their victim’s face was toxic.
Aishah’s lawyer, Gooi Soon Seng was granted a gag order to restrain police and potential witnesses from making public statements that may incriminate his client.
Huong was detained 48 hours after the murder in the same airport terminal where Kim Jong Nam was killed.

She is believed to be the dark-haired woman wearing a white shirt emblazoned with the acronym “LOL”, whose image was caught on security cameras while waiting for a taxi after the attack.
Appearing in court on Wednesday, Huong wore a yellow shirt and blue jeans, and her wavy hair was dyed blonde.
Aishah was caught a day after Huong. Police said she suffered a bout of vomiting while in custody that they said was due to side-effects from exposure to the VX. Indonesian diplomats who visited her subsequently said she was in good health.
In court, Aishah indicated that she understood the charges against her. Wearing jeans and a T-shirt, her solemn face framed by long, dark hair, Aishah nodded to Indonesian embassy officials as she left the courtroom.
“We hope that she gets a fair trial, afforded all her legal rights and not tried by the public,” Indonesia’s foreign ministry spokesman Armanatha Nasir said in Jakarta.


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Kim Jong-nam

Women charged with Kim Jong-nam’s murder leave court in bulletproof vests

Vietnamese national Doan Thi Huong (L), 28, is escorted with a heavy police presence after a court appearance with Indonesian national Siti Aisyah, 25, at the magistrates' court in Sepang. Photo: AFP

FILE - This combination of Feb. 19, 2017, photos released by Royal Malaysia Police shows detained Indonesian suspect Siti Aisyah, left, and detained Vietnamese suspect Doan Thi Huong are displayed on a screen during a press conference at the Bukit Aman national police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (Royal Malaysia Police via AP)

FILE - In this June 4, 2010, file photo, dressed in jeans and blue suede loafers, Kim Jong Nam, the eldest son of then North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, waves after his first-ever interview with South Korean media in Macau. Kim Jong Nam had spent years in exile, gambling and drinking and arranging the occasional business deal as he traveled across Asia and Europe. His fortunes had apparently declined in recent years, and he’d moved his family from a luxurious seafront condominium complex in Macau to a more affordable apartment building. (Shin In-seop/JoongAng Ilbo via AP, File)

epaselect epa05821895 Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong, 28, (2-R, in yellow shirt), who was detained in connection with the death of Kim Jong-Nam, arrives at the Sepang Court Complex, in Sepang, Malaysia, 01 March 2017. A man named Kim Chol, an alias used by Kim Jong-nam, a half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was killed at a Kuala Lumpur airport on 13 February 2017, after two women reportedly sprayed him with a highly toxic chemical weapon known as the VX nerve agent, Malaysian police said on 24 February. The two women, Doan Thi Huong from Vietnam and Siti Aisyah from Indonesia, have been charged with murder under Section 302 of the penal code, which carries mandatory death sentence if found guilty, media said quoting the attorney general. Authorities are seeking arrest for a senior official at the North Korean Embassy in connection to the case. EPA/FAZRY ISMAIL

Indonesian suspect Siti Aisyah, center, in the ongoing assassination investigation, is escorted by police officers as she arrives at Sepang court in Sepang, Malaysia on Wednesday, March 1, 2017. Under the protection of special forces carrying machine guns, two women accused of smearing VX nerve agent on Kim Jong Nam, the estranged half brother of North Korea's leader, arrived in court Wednesday to face murder charges. (AP Photo)

FILE PHOTO - Malaysian Police officers gather before a protest organized by Members of the youth wing of the National Front, Malaysia's ruling coalition, in front of the North Korea embassy, following the murder of Kim Jong Nam, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, February 23, 2017. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha/File Photo

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South Korean protesters stage a rally to support a plan to deploy an advanced U.S. missile defense system called Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, near the Chinese Embassy in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Feb, 15, 2017. The U.N. Security Council strongly condemned North Korea Monday over its latest ballistic missile launches and warned of "further significant measures" if Pyongyang doesn't stop nuclear and missile testing. The sign read "Deploy THAAD and Stop Revenge." (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

This picture taken on February 22, 2017 and released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on February 23 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (C) visiting the People's Theatre to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the State Merited Chorus in Pyongyang. Photo: AFP

Women charged with Kim Jong-nam’s murder leave court in bulletproof vests

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}If found guilty, the pair could be executed

If found guilty, the pair could be executed