Kim Jong-nam homicide: Vietnamese woman pleads guilty to lesser charge

A Vietnamese woman accused of killing Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korea’s leader, has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of causing hurt by potentially deadly means.

A Malaysian court sentenced Doan Thi Huong to three years and four months in jail, starting from her arrest in February 2017.

However, under Malaysian law she could be freed by May, her lawyer said.

Ms Huong would have faced the death penalty if found guilty of the murder.

Mr Kim, the estranged half-brother of Kim Jong-un, was assassinated at Kuala Lumpur Airport in 2017 in broad daylight, with the toxic nerve agent VX.

The development effectively means no-one has been held accountable for Mr Kim’s death.