Accused Kim Jong Nam Killers Go on Trial in Malaysia

Two women accused of fatally poisoning the estranged half brother of North Korea's ruler pleaded not guilty as their trial began Monday in Malaysia's High Court, nearly eight months after the brazen airport assassination that sparked a diplomatic standoff. Siti Aisyah of Indonesia and Doan Thi Huong of Vietnam are suspected of smearing Kim Jong Nam's face with the banned VX nerve agent on Feb. 13 at a crowded airport terminal in Kuala Lumpur, killing him within about 20 minutes. They say they thought they were playing a harmless prank for a hidden-camera show. After asking for the charges to be read in their native languages, the women shook their heads when asked if they were guilty, the AP reports.

The two women, who face the death penalty if convicted, are the only suspects in custody in a killing that South Korea's spy agency said was part of a five-year plot by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to kill a brother he reportedly never met. Police say several North Koreans suspected of involvement left the country on the day of the attack. Others who holed up inside North Korea's embassy were allowed to leave in a deal with Pyongyang to ease tensions, despite Malaysia's anger at the public use of a chemical weapon on its territory. Pyongyang has denied any role in the killing and has not even acknowledged the dead man was Kim Jong Nam. The trial is expected to last two months.