Trial of women accused of assassinating Kim Jong Un’s brother to proceed

Euronews reports that two women on trial for the brazen assassination of the North Korean leader’s half brother were told Thursday to make their defense after the judge found evidence of a “well-planned conspiracy,” extending their murder trial until next year.

Indonesian citizen Siti Aisyah and Vietnam’s Doan Thi Huong are accused of smearing VX nerve agent on Kim Jong Nam’s face in an airport terminal in Kuala Lumpur on Feb. 13, 2017.High Court Judge Azmi Ariffin said there was inadequate proof to show it was a political assassination. And he said he wasn’t persuaded by defense argument that the women thought they were taking part in a prank for a hidden-camera show.

But enough evidence had been presented in the six-month trial to infer the women and four North Korean suspects at large had meticulously engaged in a “well-planned conspiracy” to kill Kim “systemically,” he said.”I must therefore call upon them to enter their defense,” the judge said after reading his ruling for more than two hours.