Suspects face task to build defense

Two Southeast Asian women on trial for the brazen assassination of the North Korean leader’s half brother were told to begin their defense Thursday, extending the trial for several more months.

Indonesia’s 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 he was not persuaded by the defense argument that the women thought they were taking part in a prank for a hidden-camera show. He said enough evidence had been presented in the six-month trial so far to infer the women and four North Korean suspects had engaged in a “well-planned conspiracy” to kill Kim “systemically.”

The prosecution laid out enough evidence of the women’s guilt for the case against them to proceed, “I therefore call upon them to enter their defense,” the judge said after reading his ruling for more than two hours. Indonesian Ambassador Rusdi Kirana told reporters outside court that he was shocked by the ruling but his government will abide by it. The judge could have acquitted the women.

Aisyah, 25, and Huong, 29, appeared to be calm and told the judge they would testify under oath in their defense. They are the only suspects in custody and face the death penalty if convicted. The four North Korean suspects fled the country the same morning Kim was killed.