It's a murder mystery that has sparked diplomatic tensions — where calculated Cold War-style tactics were used to kill a man in just 20 minutes.
As the criminal trial for who killed North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's half brother, Kim Jong Nam, is set to resume, more details have emergedabout what happened in the lead up to his shocking death, news.com.au reports.
Nam died after he tried to check in for a flight at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia, when two women approached him on February 13 last year.
Siti Aisyah, left, and Doan Thi Huong, right, are on trial for the killing. Photo / AP
Indonesian women Siti Aisyah and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong allegedly rubbed VX nerve agent on his face as he waited to board a flight to Macau.
Nam, who is Kim Jong-un's estranged relative, died in agony shortly afterwards and the women were arrested days later.
The pair, who face death by hanging if convicted, have pleaded not guilty and said they were tricked into believing they were part of a prank reality TV show, with their lawyers blaming North Korean agents.
Photos emerged of Nam shortly after the murder showing him slumped in a chair at the airport.
Now a police witness has come forward, alleging that Nam met an unidentified American on a tourist island in Malaysia four days before he was assassinated.
Nam met the man at a hotel in Langkawi on February 9, a witness told the trial of two women accused of the killing that stunned the world.
Kim Jong Nam had previously spoken out publicly against his family's dynastic control. Photo / AP
At Monday's trial, defence lawyer Gooi Soon Seng questioned senior investigating police officer Wan Azirul Nizam Che Wan Aziz about an article last year in the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun, which had reported the meeting in Langkawi.
The Asahi reported that Kim had met a US intelligence agent in Langkawi.
A police computer forensics report showed that a laptop owned by Nam was last used on February 9, the day of the Langkawi meeting, and that a USB pendrive had been connected to it that day.
Wan Azirul agreed with Gooi's statement that Kim met a "Korean-American based in Bangkok" at the hotel.
But the officer was unable to reveal the identity of the American or the name of the hotel, often replying to Gooi's questions that he was either unsure or did not remember.
Doan Thi Huong is escorted by police as she arrives for the court hearing in Shah Alam, Malaysia, last week. Photo / AP
Kim returned to Kuala Lumpur from Langkawi on February 12, the day before he was killed. He had arrived in Malaysia from Macau on February 6, a week before he died.
Nam's body was at the centre of a diplomatic spat as Malaysian authorities refused to hand it over to Pyongyang at first. North Korea reacted angrily when Malaysia refused to hand over the body immediately, without an autopsy.
Siti Aisyah and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong are the only suspects in custody.
South Korea also has accused North Korea of ordering the murder, saying it was part of a five-year plot by Kim Jong-un to kill a brother he reportedly never met.
Siti Aisyah left is escorted by police as she leaves after a court hearing in Shah Alam, Malaysia, on Monday. Photo / AP
Police say four North Koreans suspected of involvement left the country on the day of the attack.
Lawyers for the two women have previously asked the court to compel prosecutors to identify four people still at large mentioned in the charge sheet as having a common intention to kill Nam. The judge denied the request last year.
Nam, who was around 45 or 46 at the time of his murder, was the eldest son of the family that has ruled North Korea.
But he reportedly fell out of favour in 2001 after he was caught trying to enter Japan on a false passport.
He was travelling on a North Korean diplomatic passport under the name "Kim Chol", when he was killed.
North Korea has a long history of ordering killings of people it views as threats to its regime. But Nam was not actively trying to take over or interfere in his brother's ruling.
However he had previously spoken out publicly against his family's dynastic control.
Kim Jong Nam slumped in a chair at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on 13 February. Photo / NS Times
