Second accused in murder of Kim Jong-nam freed

Kuala Lumpur, May 3

A Vietnamese woman who is the second accused of using a deadly nerve agent to assassinate Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was freed from a Malaysian prison on Friday.

After being released, Doan Thi Huong left for the immigration department, where she is expected to be processed before returning home to Vietnam later on Friday, reports CNN.

Huong, Indonesian national Siti Aisyah and four North Korean men were accused of smearing VX nerve agent on Kim Jong-nam's face as he entered the Kuala Lumpur airport in February 2017, killing him in minutes.

The four North Koreans charged were believed to have left Malaysia shortly after the killing and remain at large. Aisyah and Huong were arrested days later.

Aisyah was freed in March after the sudden about-face by the prosecution and returned home to Indonesia.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo's government claimed its intense lobbying effort helped secure her release.

Lawyers for the two women argued they were duped by North Korean agents who tricked them into thinking they were taking part in a prank reality TV show.

North Korea has consistently denied involvement in the killing, although the US, South Korean and Malaysian authorities have said Pyongyang was responsible.

With Huong heading home, it is likely no one will ever be convicted of murder for using one of the world's deadliest chemical weapons to stage a brazen assassination in broad daylight.

IANS