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Women On Trial For Murdering Kim Jong Un’s Brother With A Chemical Weapon Are ‘Trained Assassins’: Prosecutors

REUTERS/Lai Seng Sin

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Ryan Pickrell China/Asia Pacific Reporter
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The two women accused of murdering Kim Jong Un’s half-brother in Malaysia in February 2017 are “trained assassins,” not pranksters, the prosecution asserted Thursday.

“It is an assassination, where the murder was carefully planned and executed,” prosecutors explained in a written statement, noting that the two female suspects had been “trained,” AFP reported. In their closing statements Thursday, the prosecution said the two women used “criminal force.”

Kim Jong Nam, the North Korean leader’s exiled older half-brother, died in 2017 after Siti Aisyah from Indonesia, 26, and Doan Thi Huong, 30, from Vietnam, smeared VX (ethyl N-2-Diisopropylaminoethyl Methylphosphonothiolate) on the victim’s face at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, the airport surveillance footage and chemical testing revealed.

VX, listed as a weapon of mass destruction, is one of the most potent of nerve agents, which are among the most toxic and fast-acting of the various chemical warfare substances. (RELATED: Kim Jong-un’s Brother Was Assassinated With One Of The Nastiest Compounds Known To Man)

The assassination of Kim Jong Nam is believed to have been orchestrated by Pyongyang, which is suspected of dispatching a hit team to Malaysia. A handful of North Koreans were involved in the incident, having allegedly met personally with both female suspects prior to the deadly assault. The North Koreans fled the country afterward. None are standing trial.

It does not appear likely that North Korea will be held accountable for its alleged involvement in Kim’s horrific death. The two women, however, will probably face the death penalty if convicted. The crime demands death by hanging.

Both women have pleaded not guilty. The defense strongly argues that the two female suspects thought they were participating in a prank and were unaware what the substance was.

“The element of aggressiveness was present and this alone should have negated the existence of a prank,” the prosecutors argued. While there was an “element of humor,” the suspects were not laughing in any of the relevant videos. “It was not a prank and they knew what they were doing,” the prosecution explained.

“This is a political assassination undertaken by North Korea. It is obvious,” a lawyer for one of the defendants claimed.

The prosecution asserted this assault was planned and the women were not just “two scapegoats” picked “from nowhere to execute the assassination.”

After over eight months of hearings on the issue, the judge adjourned the trial until Aug. 16, when he will decide the fate of the two women accused of carrying out a hit for the North Korean regime.

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