Kim Jong-un's half-brother 'assassinated by two female agents using poisoned needles' in Malaysia

Reports say two assassins escaped in a taxi and remain at large

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's brother has been assassinated in Malaysia, South Korean media reports.

Kim Jong-nam was killed at Kuala Lumpur airport after being attacked by two women with “poisoned needles”, according to local TV reports.

The two women, believed to be North Korean agents, escaped in a taxi and remain at large, TV Chosun reported.

His death was confirmed by Malaysian police.

Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il (Getty) (Getty Images)

Police official Fadzil Ahmat told Reuters the cause of Mr Kim's death has not yet been confirmed, but said a postmortem would be carried out on the body.

“So far there are no suspects, but we have started investigations and are looking at a few possibilities to get leads,” Mr Fadzil said.

He said Mr Kim “felt like someone grabbed or held his face from behind”, He added: “He felt dizzy, so he asked for help” at an information centre.

Mr Kim was taken to an airport clinic and died in the ambulance on the way to hospital.

An employee in the emergency ward of Putrajaya Hospital told the agency a deceased Korean there was born in 1970 and surnamed Kim.

​Mr Kim went into hiding in Malaysia after the execution in December 2013 of his uncle, Jang Sung-thaek, the once-powerful uncle of the current leader.

He was known to spend a significant time outside the country and had spoken out publicly against his family's dynastic control of the isolated state.

The eldest son of Kim Jong-il, he survived an assassination attempt in Macau in 2011.

Mr Kim was born from his father's non-marital relationship with Sung Hae-rim, a South Korean-born actress who died in Moscow.

While he was widely seen as the hermit kingdom's heir apparent, he fell out of favour after being detained while trying to enter Japan on a forged passport.

He told authorities he wanted to visit Disneyland with his family.

North and South Korea are yet to officially comment on the reports.

If confirmed, Mr Kim's case would mark the most high-profile death under the Kim Jong-un regime since the execution of Jang Song-thaek.