https://www.scmp.com/rss/324024/feed The estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was assassinated at an airport in Kuala Lumpur in February 2017. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Maria Siow Maria Siow Vietnam’s top leader begins his three-day visit to North Korea on Thursday for a trip that reflects Hanoi’s desire to balance regional relations amid ongoing tensions, analysts say. Communist Party chief To Lam’s visit – the first by a Vietnamese leader to the reclusive country in almost two decades – will coincide with a military parade in Pyongyang on Friday to mark the 80th founding anniversary of the ruling Workers’ Party, according to the Vietnamese government and North Korean state media... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3328310/vietnams-leader-heads-north-korea-first-visit-18-years-rebalance-relations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3328310/vietnams-leader-heads-north-korea-first-visit-18-years-rebalance-relations?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Oct 2025 03:36:54 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall A new book published in Japan has shed fresh light on the life of Ko Yong-hui, the mother of Kim Jong-un, whose background the North Korean leader would prefer remains shrouded in secrecy. Published last month, Ko Yong-hui: The Zainichi Korean Who Became Kim Jong-un’s Mother, was written by journalist and author Yoji Gomi and draws on interviews with relatives still based in Japan, detailing how Kim Jong-un’s maternal grandfather made a precarious living as a smuggler and had to flee to North... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3317580/secret-japanese-past-kim-jong-uns-mother-threatens-north-koreas-propaganda-legacy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3317580/secret-japanese-past-kim-jong-uns-mother-threatens-north-koreas-propaganda-legacy?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Jul 2025 00:00:09 +0000 David D. Lee David D. Lee For years, South Korea’s government has invested billions in missile shields and early warning systems, determined to keep the threat of Pyongyang’s ever-expanding arsenal at bay. But the relentless exchange of missiles that defined last month’s Israel-Iran conflict exposed a harsh truth, analysts say: that even the most advanced defences can be pierced, and even the best-prepared nations may find themselves outmanoeuvred – offering a sobering reminder for South Korean military planners of how... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3317117/what-can-south-korea-learn-israel-iran-war-stop-norths-missiles?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3317117/what-can-south-korea-learn-israel-iran-war-stop-norths-missiles?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Jul 2025 01:30:14 +0000 North Korea celebrated the 75th anniversary of the foundation of the Korean People’s Army in February. As it showed off 12 of its massive intercontinental ballistic missile in a military parade, expert Korea-watchers spotted there appear to have been some significant changes in the country’s military and political hierarchy. Choe Ryong-hae, the chairman of the standing committee of the Supreme People’s Assembly, was reportedly the only member of the politburo presidium not in attendance. But the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3211872/kim-jong-uns-purges-exacerbate-climate-fear-tensions-north-korea-peninsula?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3211872/kim-jong-uns-purges-exacerbate-climate-fear-tensions-north-korea-peninsula?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Feb 2023 21:00:10 +0000 In the midst of all the media attention on Kim Jong-un’s young daughter Ju-ae, does anyone remember Kim Han-sol? After all, both are North Korean royalty and fourth generation scions of the Kim dynasty. With more members of the Kim family tree making their presence felt, will the strife seen over the last three generations continue? In recent days, Ju-ae, who is believed to be about nine years old, was photographed at two separate high-profile events, sparking speculation she may be her father’s... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3201678/north-korea-will-family-violence-continue-plaguing-kim-jong-uns-daughter-ju-ae-and-nephew-han-sol?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3201678/north-korea-will-family-violence-continue-plaguing-kim-jong-uns-daughter-ju-ae-and-nephew-han-sol?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 Dec 2022 00:00:12 +0000 The United States remains prepared to engage with North Korea, a White House spokeswoman said on Monday, despite Pyongyang’s announcement that it had tested a new long-range cruise missile over the weekend. “Our position has not changed when it comes to North Korea, we remain prepared to engage,” principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters. North Korea’s state media announced on Monday what it said were successful tests of a new long-range cruise missile that analysts said... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3148623/us-still-prepared-engage-north-korea-after-missile-test-white?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3148623/us-still-prepared-engage-north-korea-after-missile-test-white?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Sep 2021 19:35:34 +0000 When a North Korean businessman was extradited from Kuala Lumpur to the United States last week to face money laundering charges, the hermit kingdom was outraged. It responded by cutting off diplomatic ties with Malaysia while warning it would “have to bear full responsibility” and that consequences would “be incurred”. Pyongyang’s fury is in part explained by the fact the businessman, Mun Chol-myong, 55, is the first North Korean to be extradited to the US, potentially paving the way for more... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3126937/north-korea-plots-revenge-over-spy-extradited-us-malaysia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3126937/north-korea-plots-revenge-over-spy-extradited-us-malaysia?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Mar 2021 11:00:13 +0000 North Korean diplomats vacated their embassy in Malaysia and were expelled on Sunday, after the two nations cut diplomatic relations in a dispute over the extradition of a North Korean criminal suspect to the United States. The North Korean flag and embassy signage were removed from the building in a Kuala Lumpur suburb. Two buses ferried the diplomats and their families to the airport, where they were seen checking in for a flight to Shanghai. Malaysian Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3126354/malaysia-expels-north-korean-diplomats-after-ties-severed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3126354/malaysia-expels-north-korean-diplomats-after-ties-severed?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Mar 2021 12:51:58 +0000 A move by Pyongyang to sever ties with Malaysia, following the extradition of a North Korean national to the United States on money-laundering charges, could be aimed at testing the administration of US President Joe Biden, according to analysts. Pyongyang announced on Friday that it was cutting diplomatic ties after a Malaysian Federal Court panel earlier this month threw out an appeal by the North Korean, Mun Chol-myong, to stop the extradition. Mun faces four charges of money laundering in... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3126222/north-koreas-move-cut-ties-malaysia-test-joe-biden?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3126222/north-koreas-move-cut-ties-malaysia-test-joe-biden?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Mar 2021 13:18:11 +0000 Malaysia’s foreign ministry on Friday denounced a decision by North Korea to sever diplomatic ties, describing the move as “unfriendly and unconstructive”. In a statement, the ministry said Malaysia would close its embassy in Pyongyang in response and order all diplomatic staff and their dependents at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur to leave the country within 48 hours. North Korea earlier announced it would sever diplomatic relations with Malaysia after a court there ruled that a North... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3126074/north-korea-cuts-diplomat-ties-malaysia-over-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3126074/north-korea-cuts-diplomat-ties-malaysia-over-us?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Mar 2021 02:09:46 +0000 Malaysia plans to rekindle its once close ties with Pyongyang, which unravelled spectacularly following the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s half-brother in Kuala Lumpur almost three years ago. “Now it is time to resume the normal relations between Malaysia and North Korea,” Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Tuesday in an interview with South Korea’s Yonhap. “We want to be friendly with all countries in the world … Even North Korea can provide some trade for us.... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3039384/malaysias-mahathir-mohamad-plans-rekindle-once-close-north?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3039384/malaysias-mahathir-mohamad-plans-rekindle-once-close-north?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Nov 2019 06:52:50 +0000 The star-struck young woman blushes with delight as the filmmaker leans in close, confiding that “if today goes well, you’ll be known all around the world. You can become a famous actress”. In just a few whirlwind weeks, 20-something Indonesian Siti Aisyah had earned more than she had ever made after being talent-spotted on a Kuala Lumpur street corner. Her new job was to go up behind strangers at various locations around the Malaysian capital and smear baby oil on their faces while the film... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3031514/kim-jong-nam-assassination-meet-indonesian-woman?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3031514/kim-jong-nam-assassination-meet-indonesian-woman?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Oct 2019 23:00:11 +0000 The Great Successor: The Divinely Perfect Destiny of Brilliant Comrade Kim Jong-un by Anna Fifield, pub. Hachette. 4/5 stars North Korean ruler Kim Jong-un is an enigmatic figure for all that he is instantly recognisable, a young man who could easily usher the world into its next major conflict. Yet trying to gain an under­standing of who he is can be – to put it mildly – a challenge. Journalists, diplomats and world leaders have tried to unravel the man, searching for clues to his personality... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/books/article/3015331/great-successor-kim-jong-un-biography-follows-north?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/books/article/3015331/great-successor-kim-jong-un-biography-follows-north?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Jun 2019 14:00:11 +0000 US President Donald Trump on Friday again said he was in no rush to reach a deal with North Korea over its nuclear weapons programmes, days after saying he had received a letter from Pyongyang’s leader Kim Jong-un. Trump, asked about North Korea’s sanctions violations in an interview with Fox News, said “everybody tries to break sanctions”, adding that the sanctions are hurting North Korea and that the US is continuing to impose them. Trump on Tuesday said he had received a very warm letter from... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3014593/donald-trump-says-sanctions-hurting-north-korea-he?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3014593/donald-trump-says-sanctions-hurting-north-korea-he?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 Jun 2019 13:58:56 +0000 US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he had received a very warm letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, calling the correspondence “beautiful”. Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump added, “I think that something will happen that’s going to be very positive”, but gave no details. Washington is seeking to rebuild momentum in stalled talks with Pyongyang, aimed at getting North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons programme. Trump and Kim last met early this year in Hanoi,... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3014106/donald-trump-says-he-received-beautiful-letter-north-koreas-kim?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3014106/donald-trump-says-he-received-beautiful-letter-north-koreas-kim?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Jun 2019 18:06:47 +0000 North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s half-brother Kim Jong-nam, who was killed in Malaysia in 2017, had been an informant for the US Central Intelligence Agency, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. The Journal cited an unnamed “person knowledgeable about the matter” for the report, and said many details of Kim Jong-nam’s relationship with the CIA remained unclear. Reuters could not independently confirm the story. The CIA declined to comment. South Korean agencies also said they could not... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3013942/north-korean-leader-kim-jong-uns-slain-half-brother-kim-jong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3013942/north-korean-leader-kim-jong-uns-slain-half-brother-kim-jong?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Jun 2019 23:58:25 +0000 A Vietnamese woman accused of assassinating the North Korean leader’s half-brother was freed from prison on Friday, ending legal proceedings stemming from the killing despite criticism that the real culprits never faced justice. After a lengthy trial, Doan Thi Huong pleaded guilty last month to a lesser charge of “causing injury” over the 2017 assassination of Kim Jong-nam, making her the only person convicted for a murder that made headlines around the world. Weeks earlier, Indonesian Siti... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3008656/vietnamese-woman-accused-kim-jong-nam-assassination-walks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3008656/vietnamese-woman-accused-kim-jong-nam-assassination-walks?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 May 2019 00:34:30 +0000 Tens of thousands of North Koreans turned out to pay tribute to their leaders on Monday, the most important day of the isolated, nuclear-armed country’s ritual calendar. In the North April 15 is known as the Day of The Sun, the anniversary of the 1912 birth of the country’s founder Kim Il-sung, whose son Kim Jong-il succeeded him and grandson Kim Jong-un, the current leader, inherited power in turn. North Koreans are taught from birth to revere the Kim family and the ceremonies surrounding such... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3006200/north-koreans-pay-tribute-dynasty-leaders-founder-kim-il-sungs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3006200/north-koreans-pay-tribute-dynasty-leaders-founder-kim-il-sungs?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Apr 2019 06:49:58 +0000 The Vietnamese woman who plea-bargained and got 40 months in jail instead of the death penalty over the killing of the estranged half-brother of North Korea leader Kim Jong-un, will be freed on May 3, her lawyer said on Saturday. The lawyer, Naran Singh, said the Malaysia prisons department has confirmed Doan Thi Huong, 30, will be released on that day from the women’s prison in Kajang, on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. Kim Jong-nam was killed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on February... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3006003/doan-thi-huong-vietnamese-woman-linked-kim-jong-nam-murder?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3006003/doan-thi-huong-vietnamese-woman-linked-kim-jong-nam-murder?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Apr 2019 03:47:50 +0000 Vietnamese national Doan Thi Huong, convicted in connection with the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s half-brother two years ago, will never be truly free even after her release from a Malaysian prison next month, experts warn. Instead, she and Indonesian citizen Siti Aisyah, who was released last month, could be targeted by North Korean agents for elimination, as they were witnesses and accessories to the sensational assassination of Kim Jong-nam on February 13, 2017. Both women... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3004355/will-north-korea-try-assassinate-doan-thi-huong-and-siti-aisyah?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3004355/will-north-korea-try-assassinate-doan-thi-huong-and-siti-aisyah?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Apr 2019 12:00:09 +0000 A Vietnamese woman accused of assassinating the half-brother of North Korea’s leader was sentenced to three years and four months in jail after accepting a lesser charge on Monday and will likely be freed in May, her lawyer said. “In the first week of May, she will go home,” lawyer Hisyam Teh Poh Teik told reporters in the Shah Alam High Court, near Kuala Lumpur. Doan Thi Huong, originally charged with murder, had pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of causing injury, and the judge sentenced her... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3004064/vietnamese-suspect-kim-jong-nam-assassination-offered?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3004064/vietnamese-suspect-kim-jong-nam-assassination-offered?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Apr 2019 02:26:22 +0000 Days before US President Donald Trump was set to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Vietnam, a mysterious incident in Spain threatened to derail the entire high-stakes nuclear summit. In broad daylight, masked assailants infiltrated North Korea’s embassy in Madrid, restrained the staff with rope, stole computers and mobile phones, and fled in two luxury vehicles. The group behind the late February operation is known as Cheollima Civil Defence, a secretive dissident organisation committed... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3001966/shadowy-group-plotting-kim-jong-uns-overthrow-raided-north?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3001966/shadowy-group-plotting-kim-jong-uns-overthrow-raided-north?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Mar 2019 22:27:18 +0000 The Kim Jong-nam murder trial will resume on April 1 after Malaysia’s attorney general on Thursday rejected Vietnam’s request to free a woman accused of killing the half-brother of North Korea’s leader. Vietnam’s call for Doan Thi Huong’s to be freed came on the back of the release of Indonesian national Siti Aisyah, who was let go after persistent campaigning by Indonesia’s government. Huong and Siti Aisyah were charged with killing Kim Jong-nam by smearing his face with VX poison, a banned... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3001627/kim-jong-nam-murder-trial-vietnamese-suspect-doan-thi?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3001627/kim-jong-nam-murder-trial-vietnamese-suspect-doan-thi?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Mar 2019 03:30:10 +0000 A chaotic crush of jubilant villagers and reporters greeted the young Indonesian woman who was freed after Malaysia dropped charges that she murdered the estranged half brother of North Korea’s leader in an airport two years ago. Mosque loudspeakers blared as police guarding Siti Aisyah pushed their way through a mob to the house of a local parliamentarian in the Javanese village of Rancasumur where she grew up. A police official said Aisyah was exhausted and had fainted. Earlier Tuesday she... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3001426/chaos-jubilation-and-chants-kim-jong-nam-indonesian?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3001426/chaos-jubilation-and-chants-kim-jong-nam-indonesian?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Mar 2019 00:36:14 +0000 Vietnam on Tuesday asked Malaysia to free the Vietnamese woman charged with assassinating the North Korean leader’s half-brother in Kuala Lumpur, a day after her Indonesian co-accused was suddenly released. Vietnamese citizen Doan Thi Huong is on trial for murder in Malaysia for the brazen cold war-style killing of Kim Jong-nam, half-brother of Kim Jong-un in a busy Kuala Lumpur airport in 2017. Huong was accused alongside Indonesian Siti Aisyah, who was suddenly freed on... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3001414/kim-jong-nam-murder-trial-vietnam-asks-malaysia-free?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3001414/kim-jong-nam-murder-trial-vietnam-asks-malaysia-free?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Mar 2019 15:12:07 +0000 Relatives and neighbours of the Indonesian woman accused of killing Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korea’s leader, on Monday were organising an emotional welcome party after murder charges against her were unexpectedly dropped. Preparing Siti Aisyah’s favourite spicy beef dish, her aunt Siti Sudarmi said: “We were sure sooner or later she would be freed because she is innocent.” Malaysia on Monday released Aisyah, 27, from two years of detention following concerted lobbying by the... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2189446/kim-jong-nam-murder-trial-prosecutors-withdraw-murder?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2189446/kim-jong-nam-murder-trial-prosecutors-withdraw-murder?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Mar 2019 02:42:40 +0000 A shadowy group believed to be protecting the son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s assassinated brother declared the formation of a government-in-exile on Friday, dedicating itself to the abolition of the “great evil”. The Cheollima Civil Defence (CCD) organisation – which offers to assist people attempting to defect from North Korea – emerged in 2017 when it posted an online video of Kim Han-sol, saying it had guaranteed his safety after his father was killed by two women who smeared him... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/2188191/north-koreas-government-exile-who-group-dedicated-restoring?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/2188191/north-koreas-government-exile-who-group-dedicated-restoring?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Mar 2019 05:03:00 +0000 When Kim Jong-un delivered his annual New Year’s address last month, the scene was unrecognisable from his first speech as leader of North Korea six years prior. Gone were the Maoist suit and lapel pin featuring the images of his father, previous ruler Kim Jong-il, and grandfather Kim Il-sung, who founded the country. In their place was a suit and tie that would be at home in any office in London or New York. Rather than sheltering behind a podium in an austere auditorium, his voice faltering... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/2185480/north-koreas-leader-has-charmed-trump-xi-and-moon-are-they-all?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/2185480/north-koreas-leader-has-charmed-trump-xi-and-moon-are-they-all?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 Feb 2019 01:00:42 +0000 The trial of two women accused of murdering the North Korean leader’s half-brother was adjourned Monday until March, and the case will now drag on until at least mid-2019. Siti Aisyah from Indonesia and Doan Thi Huong from Vietnam have been on trial since October 2017, accused of murdering Kim Jong-nam by smearing the nerve agent VX on his face at Kuala Lumpur airport. The brazen assassination in February 2017 shocked the world, but the women have denied murder, saying they believed they were... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2183884/kim-jong-nam-murder-trial-adjourned-again-until-march?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2183884/kim-jong-nam-murder-trial-adjourned-again-until-march?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 28 Jan 2019 04:58:10 +0000 An Indonesian woman set to begin her defence next month in a trial for the murder in Malaysia of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s half-brother suffered a setback on Tuesday when a judge rejected her bid to secure statements given to police by seven witnesses. Siti Aisyah’s lawyer, Gooi Soon Seng, said he will appeal the High Court’s ruling that the statements were privileged. He said the statements were crucial because most of the witnesses were unreachable. In August, a High Court judge found... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2178593/malaysian-judge-denies-indonesian-defendants-request-police?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2178593/malaysian-judge-denies-indonesian-defendants-request-police?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Dec 2018 13:19:32 +0000 A Malaysian court on Wednesday set a January 7 start date for the defence phase of the trial of two Southeast Asian women charged with murdering Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un. Meanwhile, lawyers for the two complained of difficulties in getting witnesses to take the stand at the Shah Alam High Court, on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. Lawyers for Indonesian defendant Siti Aisyah, 26, had to apply to the court to compel the prosecution to furnish them... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2172185/trail-indonesian-and-vietnamese-women-accused-murdering-kim?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2172185/trail-indonesian-and-vietnamese-women-accused-murdering-kim?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Nov 2018 15:27:19 +0000 The murder trial of two women accused of assassinating the half-brother of North Korea’s leader can proceed, a Malaysian court ruled Thursday, in a blow to their families who insist the pair were tricked into carrying out the dramatic hit. After hearing the prosecution case, the judge said there was sufficient evidence to support a murder charge against Siti Aisyah from Indonesia and Doan Thi Huong from Vietnam, accused of murdering Kim Jong-nam with nerve agent VX at Kuala Lumpur airport. Judge... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2159969/malaysia-court-orders-two-women-enter-defence-over-kim-jong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2159969/malaysia-court-orders-two-women-enter-defence-over-kim-jong?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Aug 2018 05:00:45 +0000 Two Southeast Asian women on trial in Malaysia for the brazen assassination of the North Korean leader’s half-brother could be acquitted on Thursday or called to enter their defence in a case that has gripped the world. Indonesia’s Siti Aisyah, 25, and Vietnam’s Doan Thi Huong, 29, are accused of smearing VX nerve agent on Kim Jong-nam’s face in a crowded airport terminal in Kuala Lumpur on February 13, 2017. The women have said they thought they were taking part in a prank for a hidden-camera... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/2159876/kim-jong-nam-assassination-trial-two-accused-killers-poised?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/2159876/kim-jong-nam-assassination-trial-two-accused-killers-poised?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Aug 2018 15:00:33 +0000 Two Southeast Asian women on trial for killing the estranged half-brother of North Korea’s leader are trained assassins who used “criminal force” to rub the toxic VX nerve agent on Kim Jong-nam’s eyes and face, prosecutors said Thursday. The women’s claim that they were duped by North Korean agents into thinking they were playing a harmless prank for a hidden camera show was an “ingenious attempt … to cover up their sinister plot to obscure the eyes of the public and the court,” prosecutor Wan... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2152892/malaysia-prosecutor-says-two-suspects-kim-jong-nams-death?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2152892/malaysia-prosecutor-says-two-suspects-kim-jong-nams-death?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 Jun 2018 06:28:06 +0000 The investigation into the assassination of the North Korean leader’s half-brother was “shoddy” and “lopsided”, a Malaysian court heard Wednesday as the trial resumed of two women accused of the murder. Indonesian Siti Aisyah and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong allegedly killed Kim Jong-nam by smearing a toxic nerve agent on his face at Kuala Lumpur International Airport last year in a cold war-style hit that shocked the world. Defence lawyers have argued that the women were recruited to take part in... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2152727/kim-jong-nam-assassination-probe-slammed-shoddy-trial-nears?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2152727/kim-jong-nam-assassination-probe-slammed-shoddy-trial-nears?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Jun 2018 07:33:22 +0000 A Malaysian police investigator said on Thursday the absence of four North Korean suspects believed to have orchestrated the killing of their leader’s half-brother didn’t cause prejudice against the two women who are on trial. Defence lawyers say Doan Thi Huong of Vietnam and Siti Aisyah of Indonesia are scapegoats in the death of Kim Jong-nam at Kuala Lumpur’s airport on February 13 last year. Prosecutors say four North Korean suspects recruited the women and provided them with the banned VX... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2138482/malaysian-police-deny-they-were-harder-kim-jong-nams?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2138482/malaysian-police-deny-they-were-harder-kim-jong-nams?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Mar 2018 12:11:35 +0000 A woman charged with the murder of Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of Kim Jong-un, was tricked into committing the assassination by North Korean agents pretending they were in a prank TV show, a court heard Wednesday. Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, the defence lawyer for Doan Thi Huong, 29, presented a statement given by Nguyen Bich Thuy, a bar owner and Huong’s friend, to the Vietnamese police on March 1, 2017, two weeks after Kim Jong-nam was murdered at the Kuala Lumpur International... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/2137234/how-kim-jong-nam-vietnamese-murder-suspect-was-recruited-prank?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/2137234/how-kim-jong-nam-vietnamese-murder-suspect-was-recruited-prank?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Mar 2018 15:13:31 +0000 When Kim Jong-nam was a boy, his father, the dictator of North Korea, sat him on his office chair and said, “When you grow up, this is where you’ll sit and give orders.” If the child had fulfilled that promise – if his half-brother Kim Jong-un had not ultimately usurped his throne – he would have tyrannised 25 million people. His pudgy finger would have caressed the launch buttons of nukes. The United States and China would have debated how to manage him. But as he glanced up at the departures... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/2135434/kim-jong-nams-accused-killers-north-korean?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/2135434/kim-jong-nams-accused-killers-north-korean?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Mar 2018 01:45:00 +0000 Kim Jong-nam, the poisoned half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, told a friend in Malaysia his life was in danger six months before he was killed, a police official told a court on Tuesday. Two women, Indonesian Siti Aisyah and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong, have been charged with murdering Kim by smearing his face with VX, a banned chemical poison, at Kuala Lumpur airport on February 13 last year. Four North Korean fugitives have also been charged with murder. Defence lawyers say the... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2134959/my-life-danger-kim-jong-nam-told-friend-six-months-he-was?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2134959/my-life-danger-kim-jong-nam-told-friend-six-months-he-was?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Feb 2018 12:45:00 +0000 A woman accused of killing the North Korean leader’s estranged half-brother was hired for a prank television show by a suspect wanted by the Malaysian police just over a month earlier, her lawyer told a court on Tuesday. Indonesian Siti Aisyah is accused with another woman, Doan Thi Huong from Vietnam, of killing Kim Jong-nam by smearing his face with VX, a banned chemical poison at Kuala Lumpur airport on February 13 last year. Defence lawyers say the women thought they were playing pranks for... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/2131267/kim-jong-nam-assassination-trial-defence-lawyer-says-indonesian?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/2131267/kim-jong-nam-assassination-trial-defence-lawyer-says-indonesian?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Jan 2018 13:42:44 +0000 Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un, met a suspected US intelligence agent in the northern Malaysian island resort of Langkawi just days before his mysterious demise, police revealed on Monday. Fuelling speculation that Kim had ties with US intelligence, Wan Azirul Nizam also confirmed that a forensic report on Kim’s Dell laptop showed that some data was accessed by a USB pen drive several times on February 9, 2017, while he was in Langkawi. The pen drive... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/2131104/kim-jong-nam-half-brother-north-korean-leader-met-suspected-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/2131104/kim-jong-nam-half-brother-north-korean-leader-met-suspected-us?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Jan 2018 15:13:19 +0000 Kim Jong-nam, the murdered half-brother of North Korea’s leader, had a dozen vials of antidote for lethal nerve agent VX in his bag on the day he was poisoned, a Malaysian court was told this week. Two women, Indonesian Siti Aisyah and Doan Thi Huong, a Vietnamese, are charged with conspiring with four North Korean fugitives in the murder, making use of banned chemical weapon VX at the Kuala Lumpur international airport on February 13. The vials contained atropine, an antidote for poisons such... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/2122421/kim-jong-nam-was-carrying-antidote-nerve-agent-when-assassinated?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/2122421/kim-jong-nam-was-carrying-antidote-nerve-agent-when-assassinated?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Dec 2017 05:06:36 +0000 A North Korean embassy official and a manager of Air Koryo, the North’s national airline, met suspects wanted for the killing of Kim Jong-nam soon after the murder, according to video recordings shown at the trial in Kuala Lumpur on Monday. Two women, Indonesian Siti Aisyah and Doan Thi Huong from Vietnam, and four men who are still at large, have been charged in the murder of the half-brother of the country’s leader, using banned chemical weapon VX at Kuala Lumpur airport on February... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2118630/north-korean-airline-employee-arranged-flights-suspects-kim?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2118630/north-korean-airline-employee-arranged-flights-suspects-kim?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Nov 2017 09:11:55 +0000 Two women on trial for murdering the North Korean leader’s half-brother have visited the Malaysian airport where they allegedly poisoned him, escorted by huge numbers of heavily armed police on Tuesday. Indonesian Siti Aisyah and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong, wearing bulletproof vests, were brought to Kuala Lumpur International Airport’s budget terminal along with the judge in the case, defence lawyers and prosecutors. About 200 police, many armed with rifles and wearing masks, fanned out as the... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2116686/women-accused-killing-kim-jong-nam-visit-malaysia-airport?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2116686/women-accused-killing-kim-jong-nam-visit-malaysia-airport?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Oct 2017 03:41:07 +0000 The estranged half-brother of North Korea’s leader had about 1.4 times the lethal dosage of VX nerve agent on his face after he was attacked at a Malaysian airport, a government chemist testified Tuesday. Pure VX was on Kim Jong-nam’s body, in his eye and in his blood plasma, government chemist Raja Subramaniam said at the murder trial of two women accused of smearing the chemical weapon on Kim in the brazen assassination in February. The testimony came after new pictures and video emerged... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2114669/pictures-show-kim-jong-nams-motionless-body-after-lethal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2114669/pictures-show-kim-jong-nams-motionless-body-after-lethal?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Oct 2017 05:10:16 +0000 Traces of a nerve agent used to murder the half-brother of North Korea’s leader were found on the clothes of two women on trial for assassinating him, a chemist testified Thursday. His testimony is the first evidence directly linking the women to the poison VX which was used to kill Kim Jong-nam as he waited at a crowded airport in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. Indonesian Siti Aisyah and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong are accused of smearing VX on Kim’s face in February in a Cold War-style hit... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2114114/poison-vx-found-clothes-women-accused-kim-jong-nam-murder?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2114114/poison-vx-found-clothes-women-accused-kim-jong-nam-murder?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Oct 2017 07:00:45 +0000 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,... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2113620/women-trial-kim-jong-nam-murder-plead-not-guilty?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2113620/women-trial-kim-jong-nam-murder-plead-not-guilty?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Oct 2017 02:15:30 +0000 Two women accused of the cold war-style assassination of the half-brother of North Korea’s leader go on trial next week, possibly lifting the lid on the mysterious murder in Malaysia that sparked a diplomatic crisis. The defendants have barely been seen in public since their arrest just days after the murder of Kim Jong-nam on February 13 as he waited to board a flight to Macau at Kuala Lumpur airport. Indonesian Siti Aisyah and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong are accused of rubbing toxic VX nerve... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/2113393/two-women-set-face-trial-over-assassination-north-korean-leaders?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/2113393/two-women-set-face-trial-over-assassination-north-korean-leaders?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 29 Sep 2017 08:15:30 +0000 Malaysia will begin on October 2 the trial of two women accused of the dramatic killing of the estranged half-brother of North Korea’s leader, the High Court said on Friday. Indonesian Siti Aisyah, 25, and Doan Thi Huong, 28, from Vietnam, are charged with murdering Kim Jong-nam at Kuala Lumpur airport on February 13 by smearing his face with VX, a chemical the United Nations describes as a weapon of mass destruction. Appearing at the Shah Alam High Court on the outskirts of the capital, Kuala... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/2104447/malaysia-sets-october-2-date-trial-women-accused-assassinating?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/2104447/malaysia-sets-october-2-date-trial-women-accused-assassinating?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Jul 2017 04:19:04 +0000 The case of two women charged in Malaysia with killing the estranged half-brother of North Korea’s leader was transferred to a higher court on Tuesday, as a defence lawyer complained of not getting all of the documents he had requested. Indonesian Siti Aishah, 25, and Doan Thi Huong, 28, from Vietnam, face the death penalty if convicted of murdering Kim Jong-nam at Kuala Lumpur airport on February 13. The two women are accused of smearing Kim’s face with VX nerve agent, a chemical described by... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2096182/kim-jong-nam-murder-case-moves-malaysias-high-court-defence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2096182/kim-jong-nam-murder-case-moves-malaysias-high-court-defence?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 May 2017 03:58:04 +0000