THE two women who killed Kim Jong-un’s half-brother were naïve YouTube pranksters tricked into carrying out the assassination.

Kim Jong Nam, 45, was walking through Kuala Lumpur international airport on February 13, 2017 when he was approached by two women who smeared something on his face.

7 Kim Jong nam was walking through Kuala Lumpur airport when he was attacked Credit: Getty - Contributor

7 Doan was one of the two women arrested by Malaysian cops Credit: Rex Features

Disturbed by what had happened the half-brother of the North Korean dictator approached some security guards who took him to the airport’s medical centre.

He was dead within 20 minutes of arriving there.

It was later found that he had been killed with a deadly nerve agent.

Malaysian authorities have now released the two women who carried out the attack, Siti Aisyah, from Indonesia, and Doan Thi Huong, from Vietnam, believing they had been duped into carrying out the attack.

Jong Nam had once been seen to the heir of the North Korean dictatorship but had fallen out of favour due to his love of casinos, women and Western entertainment.

North Korean spies had been keeping watch on Jong Nam and knew he had made contact with the CIA.

'YOUTUBE PRANKS'

During a meeting at a resort on the Malaysian island of Langkawi, the CIA is thought to have handed over a thick wad of $100 bills in return for numerous files kept on a laptop.

While North Korean agents are thought to have been planning the hit for some time, the meeting sealed his fate and their plan was hatched.

Siti was approached by a Malaysian driver called “John” outside the Beach bar where she is said to have worked as a call girl and approached about taking part in a series of pranks which would be filmed and shown on YouTube.

From there she was put in touch with “James” who was a North Korean agent who managed to persuade her she could be an internet star.

Huong, who is also said to have been working as a call girl, is said to have been told a similar story, the Mail on Sunday reports.

Both were told the pranks would only involve them smearing baby oil on their victims’ faces and they would each get paid £75 for their efforts.

VX NERVE AGENT

But instead of baby oil the two women were actually carrying the two separate components of the nerve agent VX, which only produced lethal effects when they were combined.

After Jong Nam died he was found to be carrying a dozen vials of nerve agent antidote in a bag but the effects of the nerve agent had been so rapid he did not have time to take the dose that may have saved him.

Siti was arrested the following night and initially thought the arrest was just another TV joke, until she was shown news footage of the death.

Huong was arrested at the airport where the attack had been carried out and she had gone back there to look for her handlers as they had disappeared after the ‘prank’ and owed her the £75.

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The North Korean agent “James” – real name Ri Ji U – fled to the North Korean embassy along with other suspects in the case where eventually they were allowed home after a tit-for-tat deal was struck between the two countries.

It is not known just how the two women managed to avoid being affected by the nerve agent and dying and some experts even doubt it is possible to separate VX into two separate compounds.

One theory suggests that they only managed to stay alive because they washed their hands quickly after the ‘prank’.

7 Jong nam, seen here in 2010, was the eldest son of Kim Jong-Il Credit: AFP

7 Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong was arrested in connection with the murder of Kim Jong Nam however charges have been dropped Credit: Reuters

7 Indonesian Siti Aisyah was freed from custody in March Credit: Reuters

7 Kim Jong-nam is seen slumped in an airport chair after apparently being poisoned Credit: Enterprise News and Pictures

7 Doan Thi Huong was pictured in a 'LOL' top at the airport Credit: Enterprise News and Pictures

​Lady detained at airport in relation to Kim Jong-nam death​