The trial of two women for allegedly assassinating the half-brother of North Korea's leader will resume in January instead of this month after a defence lawyer fell ill, a court heard Thursday. Siti Aisyah from Indonesia and Doan Thi Huong from Vietnam are accused of murdering Kim Jong Nam by smearing nerve agent VX on his face at Kuala Lumpur airport, in a Cold War-style hit that shocked the world.

The pair went on trial in October last year, eight months after the killing, but proceedings have moved slowly due to the large number of witnesses, and the fact hearings are held relatively infrequently under the Malaysian court system. After a judge ruled in August the prosecution case was strong enough for the trial to continue, it was scheduled to resume at the start of this month with Aisyah taking the stand to offer her defence.