Malaysian authorities are preparing to deport a North Korean man who has been held as a suspect in connection with last month's death of Kim Jong Nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Forty-five year-old Ri Jon Chol has been in custody for nearly two weeks following the February 13 attack on Kim at an airport in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysian Attorney General Mohamed Apandi Ali said Thursday that the period under which Kim can be held without charges is set to run out, and that there is not enough evidence to file any charges against him, so he will be deported on Friday.
The two main female suspects in the case, a 25-year-old Indonesian and a 28-year-old Vietnamese, were charged with murder on Wednesday.
The women were not asked to enter pleas in the case, but have said they are innocent, and believed they were taking part in a prank for a television show. They each face the death penalty if convicted.