Woman Held in Death of North Korean Leader’s Kin Says She Was Duped
|
Version 0 of 1. KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — An Indonesian woman arrested in the murder of the half brother of North Korea’s leader said on Saturday that she was paid just $90 to smear what she thought was a harmless liquid on the face of an unsuspecting man. The woman, Siti Aisyah, 25, told Indonesian Embassy officials that she was paid by foreign men for what she thought was a prank for a television show and did not know that anyone would be harmed. “She only said in general that someone asked her to carry out this activity,” said Andreano Erwin, Indonesia’s deputy ambassador to Malaysia, after meeting with Ms. Siti for about a half-hour. “She said that she met with people who looked Japanese or Korean.” Kim Jong-nam, 46, the estranged half brother of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, died minutes after two women smeared liquid on his face on Feb. 13 at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The Malaysian police arrested Ms. Siti and another woman, Doan Thi Houng of Vietnam, within days. The Malaysian police said on Friday that Kim Jong-nam was poisoned by VX nerve agent, a chemical banned by international convention that North Korea is known to possess. Ms. Siti described the substance she used in the attack as similar to baby oil. Malaysia has named seven North Korean men that it says are connected to the murder. |