Doan Thi Huong: Vietnamese suspect in Kim Jong Nam murder is released

A Vietnamese woman accused of assassinating North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s half-brother has been freed from a Malaysian jail, ending a two-year case that has seen the audacious murder go unpunished. 

Doan Thi Huong, 30, was released on Friday morning from the Kajang prison, after pleading guilty last month to a lesser charge of “causing injury” over the 2017 assassination of Kim Jong Nam, 45, who died a painful death at Kuala Lumpur’s international airport minutes after being smeared with lethal VX agent. 

Her release follows that of fellow accused Siti Aisyah, who was freed after murder charges were dropped against her following direct requests from her government in Jakarta. Hanoi had also publicly lobbied for its citizen’s release. 

Throughout their arrest, detention and trial, the two women insisted that they had been duped into believing they were taking part in a prank reality TV show when they approached Kim and rubbed the toxic agent on his face. 

They had allegedly been recruited by North Korean agents who had preyed on the young women’s desires to pursue fame and escape their impoverished backgrounds.  

Four North Koreans accused of orchestrating the brazen plot, which had all the twists and turns of an international spy thriller, are said to have fled Malaysia shortly after the attack and have never faced trial. 

Accompanied by her Malaysian lawyers and an embassy official, Ms Doan will fly home on Friday evening to her waiting family in Hanoi, the Vietnamese capital, bringing an unresolved conclusion to one of the world’s most famous murder mysteries. 

Her father, Doan Van Thanh, told The Telegraph that her family were “elated and happy that Huong is returning home” and had plans this weekend to invite the neighbours in their hometown of Nghia Binh to a party to celebrate her return. 

“We will invite the whole neighbourhood over for a celebratory feast. We will slaughter our treasured pig,” he said. 

South Korea accused Pyongyang of plotting to ruthlessly murder Kim, who was perceived as a threat to his half-brother’s rule. North Korea has always denied any involvement. 

Ms Doan, who had initially faced the death penalty, was sentenced last month to three years and four months for her own part in the crime, but was released earlier due to good behaviour and time already served. 

“She is very excited, very happy to go back home to meet her family,” Hisyam The Poh Teik, her lawyer, told The Telegraph. 

He acknowledged that Kim’s murder may never be resolved, adding that his legal team had consistently argued that the women’s North Korean handlers must be brought to book. 

“That was part of our submissions in court. We informed the court that the assassins are at large and must be brought to justice,” he said. 

Requests to Interpol to arrest the four North Korea suspects and bring them to court had not yielded any results, he claimed, adding that he expected “no further developments” in the case. 

Ms Doan’s release draws a line under a period of strained diplomacy between North Korea and Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia. 

The cavalier use of VX, a chemical on the UN’s list of banned weapons of mass destruction, in a busy airport departures terminal led to a tense diplomatic standoff between Kuala Lumpur and Pyongyang. 

In the immediate aftermath, the two countries expelled each other’s ambassadors and North Korea, enraged by the Malaysian investigation, briefly refused to allow Malaysian citizens to leave its territory. 

The incident also shook Pyongyang’s relations with Vietnam. Last year North Korean officials reportedly informally expressed regret to Hanoi that one of its citizens had been charged over the plot. 

The assassination sparked global outrage at a time when Pyongyang was already provocatively test-firing a series of ballistic missiles. But the case appeared to take a back seat to later international efforts to pursue a diplomatic détente with North Korea. 

“Kim Jong Nam was murdered horrifically in an international airport but he’s received no justice at all. I’m sure those responsible in Pyongyang are laughing at how small a price they paid for their audacious crime,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. 

While the women had been “scapegoats”, the “unseemly scramble” by Indonesia and Vietnam to secure the release of their citizens and Malaysia’s willingness to do a deal had “further undermined any common regional response to hold North Korea accountable,” he added. 

The future is now uncertain for Ms Doan, whose hunger for celebrity and adventure drove her to escape the hardships of rural Vietnam, but which almost landed her on death row in a foreign country.

After her plea deal was accepted last month, the delighted young woman told reporters she wanted to revive her dream to be an actress and singer. 

But her father this week said that the family had no immediate plans for the future. “We just want to focus on being together at the moment,” he said.