WELLINGTON: A New Zealand judge on Monday adjourned the trial of a South Korean woman accused of killing her two children and stashing their bodies in suitcases, with a new date yet to be decided.

Hakyung Lee was extradited from Seoul in 2022 after the remains of her children, both aged under 10, were discovered in suitcases that had been left at a storage unit in south Auckland.

The bodies were found after an unsuspecting family bought the contents of a unit in an online auction of abandoned goods from the storage facility.

At Auckland High Court, the judge adjourned the murder trial with a new start date to be decided at a hearing on May 15, a court official told AFP without giving a reason for the delay.

Lee, who reportedly also has New Zealand citizenship, has pleaded not guilty to two murder charges.

New Zealand police have said her children's bodies were likely in storage for a long time before their discovery, complicating the investigation.

 - AFP