North Korean leader's brother dies in Malaysia amid murder reports

Kim Jong-un's estranged half brother has died after reportedly being poisoned by two agents in Kuala Lumpur international airport.

Kim Jong-nam, the older sibling of the current leader of North Korea, fell ill at the airport before dying on his way to a Malaysian hospital.

He was widely expected to be the successor to his father Kim Jong-il, but was reportedly passed over for the position due to suggesting that he would implement reforms to the secretive state.

South Korean media reports allege that two females approached Kim from behind, injecting him with poison needles before fleeing the scene.

A spokesperson for the police told Reuters the account Kim had given shortly after the incident.

"The deceased... felt like someone grabbed or held his face from behind," Fadzil Ahmat said. "He felt dizzy, so he asked for help at the... counter of KLIA [Kuala Lumpur International Airport]."

"So far there are no suspects, but we have started investigations and are looking at a few possibilities to get leads," Fadzil added.

Kim had apparently been ruled out of succeeding his father, in favour of his younger estranged brother, when he expressed a desire to reform North Korea. He wrote to Japanese newspaper Tokyo Shimbun in emails saying that he was forced out following his education.

"After I went back to North Korea following my education in Switzerland, I grew further apart from my father because I insisted on reform and market-opening and was eventually viewed with suspicion," he wrote.