Kim Jong-nam death: Two women to face murder charges

Indonesian Siti Aisyah, 25, could be sentenced to death if found guilty of murder

Two women implicated in the killing of the estranged brother of North Korea's leader are to be charged with murder on Wednesday, Malaysia's prosecutor says.

Attorney General Mohamed Apandi Ali confirmed by text message that the two women - from Indonesia and Vietnam would be formally charged.

So too could her fellow suspect Doan Thi Huong, 28, from Vietnam

The women allegedly smeared a deadly chemical over Kim Jong-nam's face at a Malaysia airport earlier this month. They have said they thought they were taking part in a TV prank.

The two women - Doan Thi Huong, 28, from Vietnam and Siti Aisyah, 25, from Indonesia - are among some 10 suspects identified by Malaysia as being involved in the killing.


Among them are a senior official at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur and a staff member of the state airline. South Korea believes at least four suspects are North Korean spies.

Who in North Korea could organise a VX murder?
What is South Korea's take on the killing?
Unravelling the mystery of Kim Jong-nam's death

Kim Jong-nam, a long critic of his family's grip on power in North Korea, was accosted while waiting at a check-in desk at Kuala Lumpur airport on 13 February.

He was smeared with a very high amount of the toxic nerve agent VX and died in pain within 15-20 minutes, Malaysia's health minister said on Sunday.