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Agence France-Presse

Two women pleaded not guilty Monday to murdering the half-brother of North Korea’s leader at the start of their trial in Malaysia, as prosecutors alleged they practised for the Cold War-style assassination before carrying it out.
The trial heard dramatic testimony from a policeman who said Kim Jong-nam complained of having blurred vision after the attack at Kuala Lumpur airport before collapsing in a clinic as medics fought to save his life.
Indonesian Siti Aisyah and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong, who arrived at Monday’s hearing handcuffed and in bulletproof vests, were arrested just days after the killing of Kim on February 13 as he waited to board a plane to Macau.
The women are accused of rubbing toxic VX nerve agent, a chemical so deadly it is listed as a weapon of mass destruction, on his face.


Kim died an agonising death about 20 minutes after the hit, which was caught on airport CCTV as the VX rapidly shut down his central nervous system.
The defendants - who face death by hanging if convicted - claim they were duped into believing they were taking part in a prank for a reality TV show.
The murder sparked an angry row between North Korea, which was accused of masterminding the killing of Kim Jong-un’s estranged relative, and Malaysia, historically one of Pyongyang’s few allies.
The women were led into the heavily guarded High Court in Shah Alam, outside the capital Kuala Lumpur, in handcuffs for the start of the trial. Aisyah, 25, was wearing traditional Malaysian dress and Huong, 29, a blue jumper.
The murder charge was read to them in their native languages and interpreters indicated they were pleading not guilty.

Opening the prosecution, Muhamad Iskandar Ahmad said the women’s actions showed their “intention to kill” and described how they had practised for the hit before carrying it out for real.
Four other suspects are accused in the charge sheet of killing Kim alongside the women, although they are still at large and authorities have not released their names. Four North Korean suspects fled Malaysia on the day of the murder.
The prosecutor said that before the murder Aisyah and Huong had carried out “prank simulations” which were “overseen by the four who are still free”.
“The prank exercises... were a preparation by all of them to cause the death of the victim,” he said.
Defence lawyers argued the charge was ambiguous due to the failure to identify the four other suspects, and urged the court to reveal their identities. Judge Azmi Ariffin refused the request.

The women’s lawyers believe the four unnamed individuals are the main suspects in the murder.
They argue that their clients, who were living precarious existences among Malaysia’s army of migrant workers, are simply the fall guys.
Witness Mohamad Zulkarnian, a police officer who was on duty at the airport budget terminal, described how Kim was brought to him by an official after the attack and how his eyes were red and surrounded by liquid.
As they walked to a medical clinic, Kim urged the police officer to slow down.
“Sir, walk slow, my eyes are blurred, I cannot see,” Zulkarnian, 31, quoted Kim as saying.
The policeman waited outside the clinic after escorting Kim.
“I noticed the man slumped on a chair and the medical staff were giving emergency treatment to the victim,” he said.
Zuliana Idris, an airport information officer who was the first person Kim approached after the attack, testified that he told her two women had attacked him from behind.

South Korea accuses the North of ordering the murder of Kim, who had voiced criticism of the regime after falling from grace and going to live in exile overseas. Pyongyang denies the allegations.
As well as the North Koreans who fled immediately after the assassination, several others allegedly linked to the murder plot were allowed to leave the country later to ease a diplomatic crisis.
Prosecutors -who insist the women will get a fair trial - will lay out their case over two months and call 30 to 40 witnesses. The defence is then likely to be called.
Before the murder Malaysia had been one of Pyongyang’s few allies amid a global outcry over the country’s atomic weapons programme.
After the assassination sent diplomatic relations plummeting between Pyongyang and Kuala Lumpur, tensions only eased when Malaysia agreed to return Kim’s body in March.


Vietnam’s leader heads to North Korea for first visit in 18 years to rebalance relations

Secret Japanese past of Kim Jong-un’s mother threatens North Korea’s propaganda legacy

What can South Korea learn from Israel-Iran war to stop the North’s missiles?

Kim Jong-un’s purges exacerbate climate of fear, tensions in North Korea, peninsula

Kim Jong-nam

Women on trial in Malaysia for Kim Jong-nam assassination plead not guilty

Siti Aisyah, left, and Doan Thi Huong, both suspects in the killing of Kim Jong-nam, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s estranged half-brother. Photo: AP

Indonesian Siti Aisyah, who is accused of killing Kim Jong Nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korea's leader, is escorted by police as she arrives at at the Shah Alam High Court on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in this still image taken from a TV footage, October 2, 2017. REUTERS/via Reuters TV

Journalists wait to enter the Shah Alam High Court, where Indonesian Siti Aisyah and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong are on trial for the killing of Kim Jong Nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korea's leader, on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia October 2, 2017. REUTERS/Lai Seng Sin

(FILES) This file photo taken on May 4, 2001 shows Kim Jong-Nam, son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il, getting off a bus to board an ANA905 (All Nippon Airways) airplane at Narita airport near Tokyo. Two women pleaded not guilty on October 2, 2017 to murdering Kim Jong Nam, the half-brother of North Korea's leader, at the start of their trial in Malaysia over the Cold War-style assassination that shocked the world. / AFP PHOTO / TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA

Lawyers for women accused of killing Kim Jong-nam claim trial compromised because Malaysia let North Korean suspects flee

Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong, 28, (C) who was detained in connection with the death of Kim Jong-nam, is escorted by Malaysian police for a court appearance. Photo: EPA

Indonesian suspect Siti Aisyah, center, arrested in the death of Kim Jong Nam, is escorted by police officers as she leaves at a court house in Sepang, Malaysia, Thursday, April 13, 2017. Malaysian authorities said two women swiped Kim's face with VX nerve agent as he waited in Kuala Lumpur airport for a flight home to Macau in February. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

A man believed to be Kim Uk Il, an employee of North Korea's national airline Air Koryo, is pictured on a plane ahead of its departure from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing on March 30, 2017. Kim and another North Korean man linked to the apparent assassination of Kim Jong Nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, arrived in Beijing in the early hours of March 31 from Malaysia on a flight believed to be transporting Jong Nam's body. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

FILE PHOTO: Kim Jong Nam arrives at Beijing airport in Beijing, China, in this photo taken by Kyodo February 11, 2007. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via REUTERS/File Photo ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. MANDATORY CREDIT. JAPAN OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN JAPAN. THIS PICTURE WAS PROCESSED BY REUTERS TO ENHANCE QUALITY. AN UNPROCESSED VERSION HAS BEEN PROVIDED SEPARATELY.

Police stand guard inside a court house in Sepang, Malaysia, Thursday, April 13, 2017. Vietnamese and Indonesian suspects who were arrested in the death of Kim Jong Nam arrived in the court house. Malaysian authorities say the two women swiped Kim's face with VX nerve agent as he waited in Kuala Lumpur airport for a flight home to Macau in February. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Leaked video appears to show killers attacking Kim Jong-nam

A screenshot from a CCTV video shows a woman in white at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, moments before she pounces on a man identified as Kim Jong-nam. Photo: Fuji TV

epa05795186 A South Korean watches TV showing breaking news about a female suspect involved in the alleged assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's half-brother, at a restaurand in Pyeongchang, Gangwon-do, South Korea, 15 February 2017. According to South Korean media reports on 14 February 2017, Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, has apparently been assassinated by unknown persons at the Kuala Lumpur airport. He reportedly immigrated to China in 1995, and has since then lived there under Chinese protection. EPA/JEON HEON-KYUN

This combo shows a file photo (L) taken on May 4, 2001 of a man believed to be Kim Jong-Nam, son of the late-North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il, getting off a bus to board an All Nippon Airways plane at Narita airport near Tokyo and a file photo (R) of his half-brother, current North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, on a balcony of the Grand People's Study House following a mass parade in Pyongyang on May 10, 2016. The half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, who has been murdered in Malaysia, pleaded for his life after a failed assassination bid in 2012, lawmakers briefed by South Korea's spy chief said on February 15, 2017. Jong-Nam, the eldest son of the late former leader Kim Jong-Il, was once seen as heir apparent but fell out of favour following an embarrassing botched bid in 2001 to enter Japan on a forged passport and visit Disneyland. / AFP PHOTO / Toshifumi KITAMURA AND Ed JONES

North Korean suspects Ri Jae Nam (front L), Hong Song Hac (back L) and Ri Ji Hyun (R) are seen in this undated handout released by the Royal Malaysia Police to Reuters on February 19, 2017. Police identified the three men as suspects in connection with the murder of Kim Jong Nam. Royal Malaysia Police/Handout via Reuters. ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVE. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Kim Jong-nam: the life and tragic times of North Korea’s forgotten son

Kim Jong-nam dressed in an army uniform with his maternal grandmother in January 1975. Picture: AFP

epa05803583 An undated composite handout image released by Royal Police Malaysia on 19 February 2017 showing suspects Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong (top-L), North Korean Ri Jong Chol (top-R), Indonesian Siti Aisyah (bottom-L) and Malaysian Muhammad Farid Bin Jallaludin (bottom-R) while arrested in connection with the of Kim Jong Nam, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's half brother. According to reports, the North Korean embassy in Malaysia asked Malaysian authorities to hand over the body of 46-year-old North Korean-named Kim Chol, who was allegedly assassinated at Kuala Lumpur's international airport in Malaysia on 13 February and whose body has been kept at the Kuala Lumpur General Hospital since the incident. Media reports state that Kim Chol, an alias apparently used by Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was attacked by two women with chemical sprays EPA/ROYAL MALAYSIA POLICE HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

A picture of North Korean founder Kim Il-sung, his first wife Kim Jong-suk and his son Kim Jong-il, is displayed at the Unification Hall at the West Seoul Life Science High School in Seoul in this July 17, 2009 file photograph. North Korean leader Kim Jong-il died on December 17, 2011 state television reported on December 19, 2011. An announcer said he died of physical and mental over-work. REUTERS/Handout/Files (SOUTH KOREA - Tags: POLITICS OBITUARY) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il (L) walks in front of his youngest son Kim Jong-un (R) as they watch a parade to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party of Korea in Pyongyang October 10, 2010. North Korea's new young leader will have to share power with an uncle and the military after the death of his father Kim Jong-il as the isolated country shifts to collective rule from strongman dictatorship, a source with close ties to Pyongyang and Beijing said on December 21, 2011. Picture taken October 10, 2010. Mandatory credit REUTERS/Kyodo (NORTH KOREA - Tags: POLITICS OBITUARY) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. MANDATORY CREDIT. JAPAN OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN JAPAN. YES

Guarded by police officers, two women and a boy who have been detained since 03 May with a man, believed to be Kim Jong-Nam, son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il, walk to board an ANA905 (All Nippon Airways) airplane at Narita airport near Tokyo, 04 May 2001. Japan was to deport them to China after they wee detained for travelling on false passports. AFP PHOTO/Toshifumi KITAMURA / AFP PHOTO / TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA

Handout image shows book cover My Father Kim Jong-il and I by Yoji Gomi. [26FEBRUARY2017 POST MAGAZINE]

Tokyo Shimbun senior staff writer Yoji Gomi speaks during a press conference entitled 'Kim Jong Nam and his death' at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on February 17, 2017. The assasinated brother of the North Korean leader was an educated, gentle soul who wished for a utopian world free of borders, said a Japanese journalist who had kept close ties with him for years. / AFP PHOTO / KAZUHIRO NOGI

A boy identified by South Korean TV station KBS as Kim Jong-un, the third son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, is seen in this undated photo provided by a Japanese national known as Kenji Fujimoto in Tokyo June 4, 2009. Fujimoto said he was a cook for Kim Jong-il for 13 years in North Korea. Kim Jong-un was born either in 1983 or early 1984. According to Fujimoto, Kim Jong-un was aged 11 in this photo. Part of the characters written by Fujimoto at the bottom of the picture read, "Received from Prince Kim Jong-un. March 31, 2001, 1:30AM in Wonsan". REUTERS/Courtesy of Kenji Fujimoto (NORTH KOREA POLITICS IMAGES OF THE DAY) TV OUT. NOT FOR SALE TO TELEVISION BROADCASTERS

FILE-In this file photo taken on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2007, a man, Kyodo News said, believed to be Kim Jong Nam, eldest son of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Il is all surrounded by media upon arrival from Macau at Beijing airport in Beijing, China. The eldest son of North Korean ruler Kim Jong Il says his father likes his youngest half brother "very much," a Japanese television network reported, amid reports he has been tapped to become the country's next leader. On Saturday, June 6, 2009, Japan's NTV aired footage of Kim's first son, Jong Nam, telling its reporter in Macau that, "My father likes him very much," referring to the leader's third and youngest son _ Jong Un. (AP Photo/Kyodo, File) ** JAPAN OUT, CREDIT MANDATORY **

Handout image shows Song Hey-rim, mother of Kim Jong-nam. [26FEBRUARY2017 POST MAGAZINE]

Handout image shows Ko Young-hee, mistress of Kim Jong-il and mother of North Korea's current leader, Kim Jong-un. [26FEBRUARY2017 POST MAGAZINE]

A military parade in Pyongyang on October 10, 2010. Picture: AFP; KCNA; KNS

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Siti Aisyah of Indonesia and Doan Thi Huong of Vietnam are suspected of smearing Kim Jong-nam’s face with the banned VX nerve agent


Malaysia

Women on trial in Malaysia for Kim Jong-nam assassination plead not guilty

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Siti Aisyah of Indonesia and Doan Thi Huong of Vietnam are suspected of smearing Kim Jong-nam’s face with the banned VX nerve agent

Siti Aisyah of Indonesia and Doan Thi Huong of Vietnam are suspected of smearing Kim Jong-nam’s face with the banned VX nerve agent