Malaysia arrests two more suspects in Kim Jong Un brother's assassination, but big questions remain


On Wednesday night and Thursday morning, Malaysia arrested two more suspects in the assassination of Kim Jong Nam, the estranged older half-brother of North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un. The female arrested early Thursday was identified as Siti Aishah, 25, traveling on an Indonesian passport, and the male, believed to be her boyfriend, gave police information that led to her arrest, Malaysian police official Abdul Sama said Thursday. Earlier Wednesday, police arrested Doan Thi Huong, a 29-year-old woman carrying Vietnamese travel documents, at the same Kuala Lampur airport terminal where Kim was murdered on Monday. Police are still searching for four male suspects.
Both women were positively identified in CCTV footage — Huong wearing an "LOL" shirt — and suspected of carrying out Kim's murder with liquid poison delivered either through needles or a spray applied to Kim's face while he was waiting in line for a flight to Macau, his home base in exile. South Korea says the assassination was almost certainly ordered by Kim Jong Un, who issued a "standing order" to have his brother killed after he took power in 2011, South Korean spy chief Lee Byung-ho told lawmakers in Seoul on Wednesday. Kim Jong Nam had survived at least one assassination attempt, in 2012, Lee added.
But many questions remain in the odd case, including what exactly killed Kim — Malaysia finished an autopsy on Wednesday night, over North Korea's objections, but hasn't released the results — and why two suspected North Korean assassins had been captured so easily and didn't even have a get-away car, relying on taxis. Huong reportedly told police that she was tricked into the murder, thinking she was just playing part in a prank then abandoned by the other women and four men still sought by police. You can learn more about the intrigue, and North Korea's history of assassination attempts, in the CNN report below. Peter Weber
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoff
Speed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
-
YouTube to pay Trump $22M over Jan. 6 expulsion
Speed Read The president accused the company of censorship following the suspension of accounts post-Capitol riot
-
Oregon sues to stop Trump military deployment
Speed Read The president wants to send the National Guard into Portland