BFF-21 Timeline of events in the Kim Jong Nam assassination

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MALAYSIA-NKOREA-CRIME

Timeline of events in the Kim Jong Nam assassination

KUALA LUMPUR, April 1, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Malaysian prosecutors on Monday
dropped a murder charge against a Vietnamese woman — the last remaining
suspect in custody over the assassination of the North Korean leader’s half-
brother.

Doan Thi Huong pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of “causing injury” and
is set to walk free next month due to sentence reductions.

It came after authorities last month rejected a request for her murder
charge to be dropped entirely — a shock decision after the charge against
her Indonesian co-defendant, Siti Aisyah, was withdrawn.

The women would have been sentenced to death by hanging if convicted of the
brazen murder of Kim Jong Nam at a Malaysian airport in February 2017.

Here is a timeline of key events in the killing.

– The Hit –

A portly North Korean man, later identified as Kim Jong Nam, dies after
being attacked at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on February 13. Seoul
points the finger at its northern neighbour and says it was a political hit
aimed at weeding out potential rivals to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Malaysian detectives track down two migrant women — one Vietnamese and
one Indonesian — who they say are seen on CCTV carrying out the attack.

The two women, who are eventually charged with murder, say they had been
paid to carry out what they thought was a prank for a reality TV show.

An autopsy reveals Kim died from exposure to the VX nerve agent, an
artificial chemical so deadly it is banned under international treaty and
classified by the UN as a weapon of mass destruction.

– The Fallout –

Kuala Lumpur arrests North Korean citizen Ri Jong Chol in connection with
the murder. Over the following days investigators say diplomats and airline
employees from the isolated regime are also wanted for questioning. All are
holed up at the North Korean embassy or have already left the country.

North Korea pours scorn on what it calls “absurd” claims that VX was used,
saying South Korea and the US are mounting a smear campaign against it.

Pyongyang insists the dead man was called Kim Chol and demands his body be
returned. Investigators refuse to release the corpse.

Malaysia cancels a visa-free travel deal with North Korea and expels North
Korea’s ambassador. Pyongyang hits back, kicking out Malaysia’s envoy.

Tensions escalate after North Korea bans all Malaysians from leaving
Pyongyang. Malaysia retaliates and the international community calls for calm
amid allegations of hostage holding.

– The Detente –

In early March, Ri Jong Chol is released from custody and deported from
Malaysia. Frustrated Malaysian police say they believed he was involved in
the plot but lacked evidence to prove it.

At the end of the month, Malaysia’s then-prime minister Najib Razak
announces an agreement has been reached to return Kim Jong Nam’s body to
North Korea. Nine Malaysians stuck in Pyongyang will be free to leave and
North Koreans in Kuala Lumpur will be allowed to go home.

In October, the two women go on trial over the murder. They maintain their
innocence.

Four men formally accused on a charge sheet of plotting with the women to
murder Kim Jong Nam are identified by a police officer as North Koreans who
fled Malaysia immediately after the assassination.

The women’s lawyers insist the North Koreans are the real masterminds.

BSS/AFP/FI/1415 hrs