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Women Suspected in Kim Jong-nam Killing to Be Charged, Malaysia Says Women Suspected in Kim Jong-nam Killing to Be Charged, Malaysia Says
(about 3 hours later)
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Two women will be charged with murder in connection with the assassination of Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half brother of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, Malaysian officials said on Tuesday.KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Two women will be charged with murder in connection with the assassination of Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half brother of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, Malaysian officials said on Tuesday.
Siti Aisyah, 25, of Indonesia, and Doan Thi Huong, 28, of Vietnam, could receive the death penalty. The police said the two women rubbed a deadly nerve agent on the face of Mr. Kim as he prepared to check in for a flight at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on the morning of Feb. 13.Siti Aisyah, 25, of Indonesia, and Doan Thi Huong, 28, of Vietnam, could receive the death penalty. The police said the two women rubbed a deadly nerve agent on the face of Mr. Kim as he prepared to check in for a flight at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on the morning of Feb. 13.
The two women, who were identified from security videos, were arrested soon after the attack. They have said that they thought they were participating in a prank. Word of the charges came as North Korea began a diplomatic effort to repair the damage from the killing of Mr. Kim, sending delegations to Beijing and Kuala Lumpur in a rare outreach by the reclusive nation as it faced accusations that it carried out the brazen assassination.
The police have arrested a North Korean man, Ri Jong-chol, and are seeking seven others. South Korean officials have accused the government of North Korea of ordering the assassination. There was no word yet on whether the North Korean man under arrest would be charged in the attack. The delegation to Beijing was led by Vice Foreign Minister Ri Gil-song, said the North’s official Korean Central News Agency, which did not provide further details. The Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed that Mr. Ri was visiting at its invitation and would meet with China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi.
Word of the charges came as a high-level delegation from North Korea, including the former deputy ambassador to the United Nations, Ri Dong-il, arrived in the Malaysian capital on Tuesday to discuss taking Mr. Kim’s body to North Korea, the South Korean news agency Yonhap reported Kuala Lumpur. Mr. Ri is the most senior North Korean official to visit Beijing since a delegation met with President Xi Jinping of China in May. His trip came five days after the North lashed out at China in unusually bitter language for tightening sanctions by suspending all coal imports from North Korea for the rest of the year, depriving North Korea of one of its most important sources of hard currency.
“We are here to discuss human rights issues and find an agreement,” Mr. Ri told reporters in front of the North Korean Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Yonhap said. The two women facing charges in Mr. Kim’s murder were arrested soon after the Feb. 13 attack and have said that they thought they were participating in a prank.
Relations between the two countries have soured since the killing, particularly over North Korea’s unmet demands that the body be returned there and Malaysia’s naming of North Korean citizens as suspects in the case. The police have also arrested a North Korean man, Ri Jong-chol, and are seeking seven others. South Korean officials have accused the government of North Korea of ordering the assassination. There was no word yet on whether Malaysian officials would charge Ri Jong-chol in the attack.
In his remarks to reporters, Mr. Ri said his delegation would meet with the Malaysian authorities to discuss taking home the body of “the North Korean citizen who died in Kuala Lumpur airport on Feb. 13,” Yonhap said. Mr. Ri did not mention Mr. Kim by name; North Korean officials have refused to acknowledge that the victim was the half brother of Kim Jong-un. With relations between Malaysia and North Korea fraying over the killing, a high-level North Korean delegation, including the former deputy ambassador to the United Nations, Ri Dong-il, arrived in the Malaysian capital to discuss taking Mr. Kim’s body to North Korea, the South Korean news agency Yonhap reported from Kuala Lumpur.
Mr. Ri also said that he would demand that Malaysia release Ri Jong-chol, the North Korean passport holder who has been arrested in the case. Ri Dong-il, the envoy, said he also would demand the release of Ri Jong-chol, the one North Korean who has been arrested in the case, Yonhap reported.
“We are here to discuss human rights issues and find an agreement,” Mr. Ri told reporters outside the North Korean Embassy.
North Korea is widely considered to have one of the world’s worst human rights records that includes enslavement and torture of political prisoners, extrajudicial executions and forced abortions.
Mr. Ri also said he would discuss “strengthening friendly relations” with Malaysia.
Whether Malaysia is prepared to discuss friendly relations remains to be seen. Officials at the Malaysian Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the standoff over the release of the body and the detention of Ri Jong-chol.