Who killed Kim Jong Un’s half brother?
KUALA LUMPUR: Eight months after the audacious assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s estranged half brother, a Malaysian court is trying to unweave a complicated web of deception, political intrigue and cold-blooded brutality - a scheme allegedly cooked up by a network of North Koreans who have never, and almost certainly never will, set foot in the courthouse.
Was it perfect crime?
Almost as soon as Kim Jong Nam was killed in a crowded Kuala Lumpur airport budget terminal, the Internet broadcast the attack to millions of people around the world. Security camera footage showed Kim, who had been jumped by two mysterious women, gesturing for help, his face covered with an obscure but exceedingly potent poison. By the time he got to a hospital, he was dead. But the viral videos merely scratched the surface. Today, members of the court hearing the case will go to the airport crime scene for the first time as the prosecution steps up its case against the only suspects actually facing punishment - two young Southeast Asian women whose lives are on the line, but who claim they were tricked into carrying out what they thought was a harmless prank. Here’s a recap of who Kim Jong Nam was and what’s come out at the trial so far about the suspects, their defense and the case against them.
The mark
When Kim Jong Nam checked in for his AirAsia flight bound for Macau on Feb 13, his passport read Kim Chol, aged 46. If it was an attempt to fool anyone, it was a feeble one - Kim Chol is the North Korean equivalent of John Doe - and despite some quick and seemingly pro forma protests and denials from North Korean officials in the days afterward, it became apparent almost immediately that this victim wasn’t just any paunchy middle-aged traveler. Kim Jong Nam, who was 45 or 46, was the eldest son of the late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.
He had been seen as a potential heir to the country’s dynastic leadership until he very publicly fell from grace when he was caught trying to enter Japan in 1998 to visit Tokyo Disneyland. What ensued was a chain of events that would leave him in de facto exile, spending most of his time in Macau, a Chinese territory famous for its casinos and high rollers. It’s not clear if Kim Jong Nam and Kim Jong Un, born of a different mother, had ever met.
But by 2010, when Kim Jong Un was revealed as the heir apparent, Kim Jong Nam was regarded - when he was regarded at all - as a luxury-hungry, tattoo-covered playboy well out of the North Korean political power picture. On the fringes, he continued to nevertheless be something of a potential threat. His ability to stay in Macau indicated he had at least some Chinese support and, because of his pedigree, was seen by some as a viable replacement if Kim Jong Un were to ever be removed from power. Rumors have it there were at least two previous attempts on his life in the past several years.
According to authorities, Kim was carrying $100,000 in cash at the time of his death, which a prominent Japanese newspaper reported was a payoff for a meeting he had just prior to the attack with an agent connected to the CIA. Such mysteries aren’t likely to get much of an airing in court. Malaysian officials have never officially accused Pyongyang of involvement. And they have made it clear they do not want the trial to be politicized.
The ‘lizard tails’
The young women who face the death penalty if convicted are Siti Aisyah, who is Indonesian, and Doan Thi Huong, who is Vietnamese. Huong wore a T-shirt emblazoned with “LOL” - laugh out loud - when she lunged for Kim at the airport. Both women now wear bullet-proof vests and handcuffs when going in and out of their court appearances. Under Malaysian law, the women can’t be sentenced to die if they didn’t have intent to kill. And that, essentially, is their defense.