Prosecutors have charged Danish submarine owner Peter Madsen with the murder of journalist Kim Wall, whose dismembered body parts were found in the sea near Copenhagen.

Mr Madsen has denied killing her but previously admitted dismembering the Swedish writer's body.

Prosecutors alleged Mr Madsen either cut Ms Wall's throat or strangled her, describing the case as "very unusual and extremely gross".

He has been charged with the murder and dismembering of Ms Wall along with a charge of sexual assault without intercourse of a particularly dangerous nature, police said.

The inventor claims the journalist died accidentally inside the submarine while he was on deck during the excursion in August.

However, he has admitted throwing her body parts into the sea.

The start of the trial has been set for 8 March. A verdict is expected on 25 April.

Danish police said they were seeking to have the inventor jailed for life.

Ms Wall, 30, disappeared last August after boarding Mr Madsen's submarine in Copenhagen as part of research for a feature she was writing about the inventor.

Mr Madsen's submarine, which was recovered following Ms Wall's death last August (EPA)

The next day, Mr Madsen — an entrepreneur who once dreamed of launching a manned space mission — was rescued from the sinking submarine without Ms Wall.

Her dismembered torso was found on a southern Copenhagen coast in late August and her head, legs and clothes were discovered in bags at sea in October.