Vietnam confirms citizenship of suspect in Kim Jong Nam murder

By Viet Anh   February 25, 2017 | 09:00 am PT
Vietnam confirms citizenship of suspect in Kim Jong Nam murder
Doan Thi Huong in an undated photo. Royal Malaysia Police/Handout via Reuters
Huong said she believed she was participating in a Candid Camera-style prank.

Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the nationality of the woman detained by Malaysian police for the alleged murder of the half-brother of North Korea's leader.

Representatives from Vietnam's embassy in Kuala Lumpur met with Doan Thi Huong, 28, and confirmed she is in good health, according to a statement issued Saturday.

Officials further affirmed that Huong is from the northern province of Nam Dinh, confirming statements issued by Malaysian police and the international press over the past week.

Embassy officials said Huong claimed to have been duped into thinking she was part of a comedy show prank.

Kim Jong-nam was killed using the highly toxic liquid nerve agent VX, the Guardian quoted Malaysian police as saying Friday.

One of the two women suspected of involvement in the poisoning vomited in police custody allegedly as a result of exposure to VX, a substance developed for chemical warfare, the Guardian quoted Inspector General Khalid Abu Bakar as saying.

CCTV footage, released by Japanese broadcaster Fuji TV, appeared to show Kim Jong Nam being attacked at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on February 13 by a woman who is believed to have wiped the fast-acting poison on his face.

On Sunday, Reuters quoted Huong’s brother as saying she was born in 1988 in Nam Dinh Province, southeast of the capital Hanoi. According to local authorities in her hometown, Huong has a clean criminal record.

Her father Doan Van Thanh, a war veteran, told VnExpress that his daughter had led a “withdrawn life” and left Nam Dinh for Hanoi a decade ago to get some pharmaceutical training.

Huong visited her family every two or three months, Thanh said, adding that she never let them know where she worked and lived. The last time she returned home was in late January, during the Lunar New Year holiday.

Malaysian authorities have already arrested 46-year-old North Korean citizen Ri Jong Chol, a 25-year-old Indonesian woman named Siti Aishah and her Malaysian boyfriend.

They are still hunting for four North Korean suspects who are believed to be connected to the murder, according to Reuters.

Related news:

Vietnam seeks to verify information on suspect in killing of N.Korean leader's half brother

 
 
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