KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—Wearing bulletproof vests, their eyes red and heads bowed, two young women accused of smearing VX nerve agent on the estranged half brother of North Korea’s leader were charged with murder Wednesday in a Malaysian court.
The women, protected by masked special forces carrying machine guns, are at the center of the bizarre killing of Kim Jong Nam at a busy Kuala Lumpur airport terminal. Many speculate the attack was orchestrated by North Korea, but it has denied any role.
“I understand but I am not guilty,” Vietnamese suspect Doan Thi Huong told the court in English after the murder charge was read. She looked briefly at the public gallery, her eyes red and face puffy, as she was led out.
The other suspect, Indonesian Siti Aisyah, nodded as her translator told her, “You are accused of murdering a North Korean man at the departure hall” of Kuala Lumpur International Airport. She was dressed in a red T-shirt and jeans.
The women did not enter pleas because the magistrate court where they appeared has no jurisdiction over a murder case. Lead prosecutor Iskander Ahmad told the court he will ask for the case to be transferred to a higher court and for the women to be tried together.
