RACY new pictures of a woman suspected of killing Kim Jong-un’s half-brother have emerged.
Doan Thi Huong’s Facebook page, which has now been taken down, features pouting party pictures including a snap of her wearing a shirt emblazoned ‘LOL’ similar to the one worn by a fleeing suspect caught on CCTV.
The photos were released amid claims she once starred on the Vietnamese version of Pop Idol.
The 28-year-old worked at a popular party venue, according to Malaysian police who have arrested her over the murder of Kim Jong-nam at a Malaysian airport.
On a rice farm in northern Vietnam, her family said they had hardly heard from her since she left home a decade ago aged just 18.
“At first we doubted it was her when we saw the picture with the ‘LOL’ shirt,” said stepmother Nguyen Thi Vy, according to The Sun.
“But when someone bought a clearer picture here, we knew it was our Huong.
If she committed the crime, she has to suffer, we can’t do anything … but I think she must have been set up by someone.”
Huong’s brother Doan Van Binh said he knew little about his sister’s life after she left the village.
“I encouraged her to study and earn money so that her future would be good,” he said. “My family is very sad. We all thought she was in a good place.”
Huong posted to Facebook under the name Ruby Ruby, according to her 18-year-old niece, Dinh Thi Quyen.
The last post on a Facebook page — released by the respected AP news agency — is dated February 11 from Kampong Besut, Malaysia.
“I want to sleep more but by your side,” the post reads above a picture of her, eyes closed and wrapped up in bed.
Malaysian police believe Huong and an Indonesian woman wiped a toxin-soaked liquid on Kim’s face at Kuala Lumpur’s budget air terminal.
The owner of a Korean restaurant in Malaysia says the North Korean leader’s brother who died at Kuala Lumpur’s airport was a frequent customer, and he sent his dishes to the South Korean Embassy for DNA testing to confirm his identify.
Alex Hwang said he first met Kim Jong-nam in 2012 at his Koryo-Won restaurant in Kuala Lumpur, and they met a total of eight times. He said Kim visited the restaurant with his wife but never gave his name.
Hwang, from South Korea, said he recognised Kim and collected his dishes after a meal and sent them to the South Korean Embassy for fingerprint and DNA tests that confirmed his identity.
Kim, who was often accompanied by two female bodyguards, was a “very humble, very nice guy” who was soft-spoken and well-mannered, Hwang said.
Malaysia’s national police chief Khalid Abu Bakar says help has been sought from Interpol to issue an alert for the four North Korean suspects who left Malaysia on the same day the half brother was killed.
It is not known what Interpol can do, as the four are believed to be back in Pyongyang and North Korea is not a member of Interpol.
Khalid also said there were no plans to send officers to Macau to collect a DNA sample from the family. North Korea says Malaysia’s investigation into the death of one of its nationals is full of “holes and contradictions” amid speculation that its agents masterminded the assassination.
Malaysia police have not directly pinpointed North Korea as being behind the death, but are searching for several North Korean suspects.
The Korean Jurists Committee said in a statement on Thursday that the Malaysian investigation lacks fairness and has been influenced by the South Korean government, which blames Pyongyang for the death. North Korea has not acknowledged that the dead man is Kim Jong-nam.
It comes as Malaysia’s police chief said investigators want to question a North Korean embassy official about the death of the exiled half brother of Pyongyang’s leader, saying he should co-operate if he has nothing to hide despite having diplomatic immunity.
Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar said police have also asked Interpol to issue an alert for four North Korean men who left Malaysia the same day Kim Jong Nam was attacked by two women as he waited for a flight at the Kuala Lumpur airport on February 13.
The four men are believed to be back in North Korea, but police also want to question three other people still in Malaysia, including Hyon Kwang Song, a second secretary at the North Korean Embassy.
“The foreign officer has got immunity so we have to follow protocol,” Khalid told reporters. “If you have nothing to hide, you don’t have to be afraid.
You should co-operate.” Khalid acknowledged that Malaysia would not be able to question Hyon if the embassy exercises its immunity privileges.
North Korea’s official and highly selective state-controlled media mentioned the case for the first time, saying Malaysia’s investigation was full of “holes and contradictions” without acknowledging the victim was Kim Jong-nam.
The report from KCNA largely echoed past comments by North Korea’s ambassador to Malaysia, but the publication of at least some news inside North Korea could be a sign of its concern over growing international speculation that Pyongyang dispatched a hit squad to kill Kim Jong-nam.
According to the KCNA account, Malaysia initially said the man had a heart attack, but South Korea “kicked up a fuss” and plotted to have Pyongyang blamed for the killing.
The report said “the biggest responsibility for his death rests with the government of Malaysia.” Malaysia had said on Tuesday there was no evidence of a heart attack, but the autopsy results are not yet complete.
Police have said the two attackers rubbed a liquid on Kim Jong Nam’s face before walking away and quickly washing their hands.
He sought help from airport staff but died before he reached the hospital.
The seeming contradiction of a poison that could kill him quickly but not sicken the attackers has stumped outside experts.
The two suspected attackers are in custody, as is a North Korean, Ri Jong Chol, 46, who police said works in the information technology department in Tombo Enterprise, a Malaysian drug company.
Tombo’s boss Chong Ah Kow told the AP on Thursday that Ri was not an employee of his company but that he applied a work permit for Ri to explore business opportunities in the import and export of palm oil and herbal extracts.
He said Ri first came to see him in 2013 in Kuala Lumpur and that he knew Ri’s uncle, a scientist in North Korea dealing with mushroom extracts. Ri also showed him a certificate of graduation in program engineering from the Kim Chaek University of Technology in Pyongyang, Chong said.
Chong said Ri was humble and soft-spoken and that he only met Ri a few times with Ri’s daughter, who acted as a translator.
They last met in January this year for a possible palm oil venture but no deals have been struck.
He said he was shocked to hear the news of his arrest. Ri’s wife and two children are in Malaysia, he added.
