Accused thought it was only a prank

– The Kuala Lumpur airport terminal where Kim Jong-Nam was assassinated with a lethal nerve agent was given the all-clear yesterday, as two women suspected of carrying out the attack insisted they thought they were taking part in a prank video.

The scene of the brazen February 13 killing of the North Korean leader’s half-brother was swept by civil defence personnel overnight, after Malaysia revealed the victim died from VX nerve agent, which is so deadly it is classified as a weapon of mass destruction.

Two women can be seen shoving something into Kim’s face in leaked CCTV airport footage of the ambush. He later suffered a seizure and was dead before he reached hospital.

One of the two female suspects now in custody, 25-year-old Indonesian Siti Aisyah, reportedly told a senior diplomat she had been paid just RM400 (R1 100) for her role, adding she believed she was handling a liquid-like “baby oil”.

The other woman, Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong, 28, told Hanoi officials she had been tricked, thinking she was taking part in a prank for a comedy video.

Police sealed off large areas of the terminal’s two departures halls where the attack was carried out ahead of the sweep for traces of the highly potent toxin.

Malaysian police have said one of the women arrested after the attack fell ill in custody, adding she had been vomiting.

Detectives are also holding a North Korean man but want to speak to seven other North Koreans, four of whom are thought to have fled to Pyongyang. – AFP