Women accused in Kim Jong Nam's death plead not guilty

Oct. 1 (UPI) -- Two woman accused of killing Kim Jong Nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, pleaded not guilty in a Malaysian court.

The trial for Doan Thi Huong, of Vietnam, and Siti Aisyah, of Indonesia, began Monday. The two are accused of smearing Kim Jong Nam's face with a toxic VX nerve agent, killing him at Kuala Lumpur airport Feb. 13.

The two women, 29 years old and 25 years old, respectively, said they were manipulated into believing they were rubbing a harmless substance on Kim Jong Nam's face as part of a reality television prank show.

If found guilty of murder, they each face the death penalty.

Kim Jong Nam, in his mid-40s, had been waiting for a flight to Macau when he died. He was estranged from his brother Kim Jong Un at the time of his death.

His death sparked a rift between North Korea and Malaysia, each country expelling the other's diplomats.