CCTV footage purportedly showing the deadly assault in Malaysia on the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un by a woman, who is believed to have wiped a fast-acting poison on his face, has been released by Japanese broadcaster Fuji TV.

Kim Jong-nam died last Monday a short time after the attack in the departure hall of Kuala Lumpur International Airport, where he had been preparing to take a flight to Macau.

Malaysian police have detained four suspects — a Vietnamese woman, an Indonesian woman, a Malaysian man, and North Korean man — and are on the hunt for four other North Koreans who fled the country on the day of the attack.

At least three of the wanted North Koreans caught an Emirates flight to Dubai from Jakarta late on the same day, an Indonesian immigration office official said.

It is reported they then flew to Pyongyang, although Malaysian police have not confirmed this.

The immigration spokesman revealed the three suspects Ri Jae Nam, Hong Song Hac and Ri Ji Hyon flew on Emirates flight 359 from Soekarno Hatta international airport to Dubai on February 13.

A fourth North Korean man also wanted by Malaysian police was recorded as departing Jakarta's international airport on January 19.

The grainy closed circuit television footage, which has been released on several websites, showed from two different angles a woman wearing a white top grab a man's face from behind with both hands and walk away.

The purported moment Kim Jong-nam is attacked at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. ( Supplied )

A second woman was also seen walking swiftly away in another direction after the assault, though it was unclear if she had participated in the attack.

The portly, balding middle-aged man was seen stumbling and wiping his face after the assault, and later clips showed him seeking help from people while gesturing to his face and then being escorted to a clinic.

More footage showed him inside the clinic seeking medical assistance.

Reuters could not independently verify the authenticity of the videos, and police officials were not immediately available for comment.

In a press conference on Sunday, police said the victim complained to the airport customer service personnel that two women had "wiped his face with a liquid".

Malaysia recalls ambassador over autopsy spat

The diplomatic rift between Malaysia and North Korea is deepening, with North Korea saying it cannot trust the investigation by Malaysian police and demanding a joint probe.

The Malaysians went ahead with the autopsy despite North Korea's opposition, saying they were simply following protocol.

In a five-page statement read to the press, North Korean ambassador Kang Chol said the country also questioned the identity of the dead man, saying he was only known to them as Kim Chol from his passport.

"It has been seven days since the incident but there is no clear evidence on the cause of death and at the moment we cannot trust the investigation by the Malaysian police," the ambassador said in Kuala Lumpur.

"It only increases the doubt that there could be someone else's hand behind the investigation," he said.

"All the happenings clearly show that this incident is politicised by Malaysia in collusion with [South Korea]."

The ambassador then demanded a joint investigation into the death of its citizen and said Malaysia should be held responsible for the "many rumours" which have defamed North Korea's image.

North Korea has also demanded to speak to the two women who have been arrested.

On Monday, the Malaysian foreign ministry said in a statement it would recall its ambassador to Pyongyang over the comments.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said the country had no reason "to paint North Korea in a bad light" and would be objective in its inquiry.

Malaysia's health minister, Subramaniam Sathasivam, said the autopsy results could be released as early as Wednesday.

Malaysian authorities have given Kim Jong-nam's next of kin two weeks to come forward to help in the investigation.

South Korean and US officials believe Kim Jong-nam was killed by agents from the reclusive North.

Kim Jong-nam collapsed before having gone through immigration. ( AP )

South Korean Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn told a meeting of South Korea's National Security Council on Monday that it was nearly certain that North Korea was behind the killing.

Kim Jong-nam, 46, who had been living in the Chinese territory of Macau under Beijing's protection, had spoken out publicly against his family's dynastic control of the isolated, nuclear-armed nation.

Timeline of suspected NK killings 1968: Commandos, dressed as SK military, attempt to assassinate President Park Chung-hee. Stopped 800 metres from the Blue House, 29 of 31 would-be assassins were killed.

Commandos, dressed as SK military, attempt to assassinate President Park Chung-hee. Stopped 800 metres from the Blue House, 29 of 31 would-be assassins were killed. 1974: Suspected NK agent shoots at Park during Independence Day speech, missing and instead killing his wife.

Suspected NK agent shoots at Park during Independence Day speech, missing and instead killing his wife. 1983: Bomb explodes at Myanmar memorial during SK President Chun Doo-hwan's visit. SK foreign minister and 20 others killed. One bomber confesses to being NK military.

Bomb explodes at Myanmar memorial during SK President Chun Doo-hwan's visit. SK foreign minister and 20 others killed. One bomber confesses to being NK military. 1987: Two suspected NK agents plant bomb on SK plane from Baghdad to Seoul. Bomb explodes after pair disembarks in Abu Dhabi — 115 people, mostly from SK, die.

Two suspected NK agents plant bomb on SK plane from Baghdad to Seoul. Bomb explodes after pair disembarks in Abu Dhabi — 115 people, mostly from SK, die. 1997: NK defector Lee Han-young, Kim Jong-nam's cousin, is shot and killed in SK by two people who were never caught. Suspected to be NK agents.

NK defector Lee Han-young, Kim Jong-nam's cousin, is shot and killed in SK by two people who were never caught. Suspected to be NK agents. 2010: SK authorities arrest two NK operatives the South say were on a mission to assassinate Hwang Jang-yop, a defector and former NK Workers' Party secretary.

SK authorities arrest two NK operatives the South say were on a mission to assassinate Hwang Jang-yop, a defector and former NK Workers' Party secretary. 2011: A NK agent was jailed in the South for attempting to assassinate Park Sang-hak, a NK defector, with a poison-tipped needle. Source: Reuters

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