Kim Jong Nam Assassination: Indonesian Suspect Hired For Multiple Pranks, Says Lawyer

The Indonesian woman charged with the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s half-brother, Kim Jong Nam, was paid by a suspected Pyongyang agent, who paid the woman to take part in multiple “pranks” a few weeks before the murder, a court heard Friday, according to latest reports.

Kim Jong Nam was assassinated on Feb. 13, 2017, at Kuala Lumpur Airport while he was waiting for a flight to Macau. Siti Aisyah and Vietnamese woman Doan Thi Huong are on trial for his Cold War-style assassination.

The pair supposedly killed Kim as he went through terminal 2 of Kuala Lumpur Airport by smearing a banned nerve agent called VX on his face which eventually resulted in his death 20 minutes later. They were arrested a few days after the attack.

According to their defense lawyers, the two women were reportedly hired to participate in what they thought were TV show pranks.

According to a report in the Straits Times, defense lawyers argued the two of them were instead tricked into becoming unintended assassins, in an elaborate plot by a group of North Korean agents.

Defence lawyer Gooi Soon Seng spoke about this new piece of information and said: "The significance of today's evidence is we are telling the court how this girl was tricked into doing pranks and persuaded to go to the airport on February 13.”

During the trial on Friday, investigating officer Wa Azirul Nizam also said Aisyah told police she was offered money by Ri Ji U, a North Korean posing as a Japanese man called “James,” to carry out the pranks.

This new piece of evidence comes after Ri was supposedly described as the youngest of eight North Korean men who were previously wanted by the Malaysian police for suspected involvement in the killing.

Defence lawyer Gooi added that multiple pranks were acted out in shopping malls, hotels and at the airport, weeks prior to the assassination and that Aisyah was paid almost US$1,000 for participating.

"I put it to you that James had asked Siti to take part in three pranks," Gooi asked of the investigator, who replied in the affirmative. Gooi said Aisyah also uploaded a video of “James” on her Facebook page after playing a prank at the airport on Jan. 6 last year.

He said the Facebook video proves Aisyah really believed she was participating in a TV show prank and not taking part in an assassination.

Reports state both Aisyah and Huong face death by hanging if convicted. As of now, the two women have pleaded not guilty.

However, Malaysian police have argued that the two women were properly trained to carry out the assassination since they immediately headed to the toilet to wash their hands after attacking Kim.
Kim was the estranged half-brother of the North Korean president and was living in exile ever since a family fallout.