Two women accused of killing the half-brother of North Korea’s leader with a nerve agent are facing a death sentence after prosecutors today confirmed they will be charged with murder.
Malaysia’s chief prosecutor Mohamed Apandi Ali said the charges to be brought tomorrow against Indonesian Siti Aisyah and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong would bring a mandatory death sentence if they are convicted.
Two other suspects in the February 13 killing of Kim Jong-nam have been arrested - a Malaysian who is out on bail and a North Korean who remains in custody.
Authorities are seeking another seven North Korean suspects, four of whom fled the country on the day of Mr Kim’s death and are believed to be back in North Korea.
The killing took place amid crowds of travellers at Kuala Lumpur’s airport and appeared to be a well-planned hit.
Malaysian authorities said North Koreans put the deadly nerve agent VX on the hands of Aisyah and Huong, who then placed the toxin on Mr Kim’s face. He died on the way to hospital within about 20 minutes of the attack.
South Korean intelligence officers believe four of the North Koreans identified as suspects are from their country’s spy agency.
