Two women will be charged with murdering the estranged half-brother of North Korea's leader, Malaysia's prosecutor says.
Doan Thi Huong, left, and Siti Aisyah have said they thought they were taking part in a TV prank. Photo: Handout / Royal Malaysian Police / AFP
Attorney-General Mohamed Apandi Ali said the women - from Indonesia and Vietnam - would be formally charged on Wednesday and could face death if convicted.
The women allegedly smeared a deadly chemical over Kim Jong-nam's face at a Malaysian airport earlier this month.
They have said they thought they were taking part in a TV prank.
"They will be charged in court under Section 302 of the penal code," the attorney-general said, confirming they would face a mandatory death sentence if found guilty.
He said no decision had yet been taken on whether to charge a North Korean man, who is also being held over the killing.
The two women - Doan Thi Huong, 28, from Vietnam and Siti Aisyah, 25, from Indonesia - are among some 10 suspects identified by Malaysia as being involved in the killing.
The suspects include a senior official at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur and a staff member of the state airline. South Korea has said it believes at least four suspects are North Korean spies.
Kim Jong-nam, a long-time critic of his family's grip on power in North Korea, was accosted while waiting at a check-in desk at Kuala Lumpur Airport on 13 February.
He was smeared with a very high amount of the toxic nerve agent VX and died in pain within 15-20 minutes, Malaysia's health minister said on Sunday.
- BBC