Two women accused of killing the estranged half-brother of North Korea's leader at the Kuala Lumpur international airport are expected to plead not guilty when their trial begins at a Malaysian court on Monday.
Indonesian Siti Aisyah, 25, and Doan Thi Huong, 28, from Vietnam, are charged with murdering Kim Jong-nam at the airport on February 13 by smearing his face with VX, a chemical the United Nations describes as a weapon of mass destruction.
The pair, however, have told their lawyers they did not know they were participating in a deadly attack and believed they were carrying out a prank for a reality TV show. They face the death penalty if convicted.
"They will maintain their innocence," Hisyam Teh, Huong's lawyer, told Reuters.
Monday's much-anticipated trial is expected to run until November 30 at the Shah Alam High Court on the outskirts of the Malaysian capital.
South Korean and US officials have said that Kim Jong-un's regime was behind the murder.
Reuters
