Kim’s killing a $90 hit

Suspected assassin thought she was ‘role playing’

TWO women being held over r the assassination of Kim Jongnam said they thought they were taking part in a prank video, with one of them reportedly telling a senior diplomat she was paid just RM400 – $90 – for her role.

Almost two weeks after the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was killed with a lethal nerve agent at Kuala Lumpur airport, Malaysian teams in hazmat suits sealed off the scene of the assassination early yesterday to sweep the site f for t toxins.i

Two women are seen shoving something into Kim’s face in leaked CCTV footage. He suffered a seizure and was dead before he reached hospital.

Malaysia revealed on Friday that Kim, 45, was assassinated with a lethal nerve agent manufactured for chemical warfare and listed by the UN as a weapon of mass destruction.

Indonesian Siti Aisyah, who was arrested soon after the assassination on February 13, said she believed she was h handling a liquid like “baby oil”, the country’s deputy ambassador to Malaysia Andreano Erwin said.

Siti, 25, “only said in general that somebody asked her to do this activity”, according to Mr Erwin, adding that she was paid the $90 to take part in the “prank”.

Another female suspect, Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong (pictured), 28, is also in custody over the murder, but Mr Erwin said Siti had told Indonesian consular staff she did not know her.

Huong told Vietnam’s foreign ministry that she believed she had been tricked into killing Kim and thought she was taking part in a prank for a comedy video.

“During contact with embassy staff, Huong said she ... had thought she was playing a role in a humorous video clip,” a statement from Vietnam’s foreign ministry said.

Huong gained notoriety after Malaysian police shared CCTV images of her wearing a top emblazoned with “LOL” shortly after the killing.

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

After completing a sweep yesterday Malaysian police found no trace of the deadly nerve agent and declared the airport terminal a “safe zone”.