Indonesian diplomats in Malaysia will meet today with a female national in detention for the murder of the half-brother of North Korea’s leader, the Indonesian foreign ministry said yesterday.
The Indonesian woman is one of three suspects being held for the apparent assassination with a chemical weapon of Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of Kim Jong-un, at KL International Airport's low-cost terminal on Feb 13.
"The Indonesian foreign minister has obtained confirmation that our embassy and lawyers will get consular access (to the suspect)," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
"Consular access will be used to physically verify the suspect's nationality... and obtain preliminary information to provide legal assistance," the statement added.
In keeping with Malaysian law, Indonesian officials had previously not been allowed to question the suspect.
The Indonesian woman, alongside a Vietnamese woman, is alleged to have killed Kim Jong-nam by wiping across his face a substance that authorities have identified as VX nerve agent.
VX is classified by the United Nations as a weapon of mass destruction and is the most potent nerve agent ever created.
Malaysian police are investigating whether the chemical was brought into the country or produced here.
Footage released earlier this week by Japanese broadcaster Fuji TV appears to show two women lunging at the victim as he prepared to board a flight to the Chinese territory of Macau.
They grab at his face and then quickly walk away in different directions. Later clips show the victim asking airport officials for medical help.
Family members of the Indonesian national have said she believed she had been part of a prank on a TV show.
But Malaysian police have said the two women had rehearsed the attack before carrying it out and had been instructed to wash their hands afterwards.
Police have also arrested the Vietnamese woman and a North Korean man. Seven other North Koreans, including a diplomat at their embassy in Kuala Lumpur, are also wanted.
- Reuters
