TWO women accused of the Cold War-style assassination of the half brother of North Korea leader Kim Jong-Un in Malaysia will go on trial in October, a judge said today.

Indonesian Siti Aisyah and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong are accused of rubbing the highly toxic VX nerve agent in the face of Kim Jong-Nam as he waited to board a plane at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 in February.

The women, who face the death penalty if convicted, deny carrying out the killing and say they were duped into believing they were taking part in a reality TV show.

At a heavily guarded court outside the capital, the women, both in their 20s, arrived wearing bulletproof vests and handcuffs, and were taken past a waiting pack of journalists.

Judge Azmi Ariffin told the 30-minute hearing at Shah Alam High Court that the trial would begin on October 2 and would take place over 23 days.

“I am making a ruling that both the cases will be tried jointly,” he told the packed courtroom.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Muhammad Iskandar Ahmad said 30 to 40 witnesses would be called.

Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, a lawyer for Huong, said the judge had decided to take the women’s pleas at the start of the trial. The women’s lawyers had previously said they expected the pair to enter not guilty pleas today.

Seoul accuses North Korea of being behind the murder of Kim Jong-Un’s estranged relative, a charge Pyongyang denies.

The murder – which took place as Kim Jong-Nam was about to board a flight to Macau – sparked a serious diplomatic row between Malaysia and North Korea, with Kuala Lumpur expelling the North’s ambassador and Pyongyang banning Malaysians from leaving the country.

Tensions eased when Malaysia agreed to the return of Jong-Nam’s body to Pyongyang. Under the terms of that agreement, nine Malaysians prevented from leaving Pyongyang were freed and three North Koreans in Malaysia were allowed to go home.

Police are still trying to trace four North Koreans suspected of having part in the murder plot but who are believed to have returned to their capital immediately after the killing. – AFP, July 28, 2017.