Nearly four years after the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un`s estranged half-brother, Kim Jong Nam, a new documentary seeks to shed light on the brazen airport murder and the involvement of the two young women accused of carrying it out. 
 
Kim Jong Nam`s killing&nbsp;at Malaysia`s Kuala Lumpur International Airport in February 2017 was caught on grainy CCTV footage broadcast worldwide, yet many details still remain a mystery. 
 
U.S. director Ryan White spent 2-1/2 years investigating the case for "Assassins," which will be released in cinemas and digitally on-demand on Friday. 
 
The film focuses on the two women - Indonesian Siti Aisyah and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong - who were charged with poisoning Kim by smearing his face with the banned chemical weapon VX and had at one point faced a mandatory death penalty in Malaysia. 
 
Defense lawyers maintained they were pawns in an assassination orchestrated by North Korean agents. The women said they thought they were part of a reality prank show and did not know they were poisoning Kim. 
 
Siti was freed in March 2019 after a Malaysian court dropped charges against her. Prosecutors dropped a murder charge against Huong, who pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of causing harm using dangerous means, and she went free the following May. 
 
South Korean and U.S. officials have said the North Korean regime had ordered the assassination of Kim, who had criticized his family`s dynastic rule. Pyongyang has denied the allegation. 
 
For "Assassins," White`s extensive research included travel to Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia. But he said hearing from the women themselves was the most crucial factor in finding the reality behind the headlines. 
 
Doan and Aisyah were shown the documentary earlier this week, and while the film got their blessing, Doan expressed regret over some scenes, White said. 
 
&nbsp;"Her first reaction ... was, `I wish I hadn`t smiled so much,`" he said, referring to scenes showing the return to Vietnam of Doan, who White said became a target for vitriol on social media and has "retreated into her shell a lot more."

&nbsp;"They`re both lovely and thankfully survived this experience, but I think their lives will never be the same, unfortunately," he said. 
 
 
 
(Reporting by Hanna Ratala; Writing by Jonathan Oatis; Editing by Rosalba O`Brien) 
&nbsp;

Nearly four years after the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un`s estranged half-brother, Kim Jong Nam, a new documentary seeks to shed light on the brazen airport murder and the involvement of the two young women accused of carrying it out.

Nearly four years after the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un`s estranged half-brother, Kim Jong Nam, a new documentary seeks to shed light on the brazen airport murder and the involvement of the two young women accused of carrying it out. Kim Jong Nam`s killing at Malaysia`s Kuala Lumpur International Airport in February 2017 was caught on grainy CCTV footage broadcast worldwide, yet many details still remain a mystery. U.S. director Ryan White spent 2-1/2 years investigating the case for "Assassins," which will be released in cinemas and digitally on-demand on Friday. The film focuses on the two women - Indonesian Siti Aisyah and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong - who were charged with poisoning Kim by smearing his face with the banned chemical weapon VX and had at one point faced a mandatory death penalty in Malaysia. Defense lawyers maintained they were pawns in an assassination orchestrated by North Korean agents. The women said they thought they were part of a reality prank show and did not know they were poisoning Kim. Siti was freed in March 2019 after a Malaysian court dropped charges against her. Prosecutors dropped a murder charge against Huong, who pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of causing harm using dangerous means, and she went free the following May. South Korean and U.S. officials have said the North Korean regime had ordered the assassination of Kim, who had criticized his family`s dynastic rule. Pyongyang has denied the allegation. For "Assassins," White`s extensive research included travel to Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia. But he said hearing from the women themselves was the most crucial factor in finding the reality behind the headlines. Doan and Aisyah were shown the documentary earlier this week, and while the film got their blessing, Doan expressed regret over some scenes, White said. "Her first reaction ... was, `I wish I hadn`t smiled so much,`" he said, referring to scenes showing the return to Vietnam of Doan, who White said became a target for vitriol on social media and has "retreated into her shell a lot more." "They`re both lovely and thankfully survived this experience, but I think their lives will never be the same, unfortunately," he said. (Reporting by Hanna Ratala; Writing by Jonathan Oatis; Editing by Rosalba O`Brien)

Documentary 'Assassins' tells the strange story of the murder of Kim Jong Un's half-brother

The North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has gone missing yet again. It has been 23 days now since the leader was last spotted by the public, or officials other than his close aides.

Kim Jong Un was last seen on October 21. He had visited a cemetery in the South Pyongyang province to pay respect to the soldiers who had lost their lives while protecting the kingdom against the Chinese soldiers in the 1950-53 Korean war.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/north-korea-dubs-un-nuclear-watchdog-a-dancing-marionette-of-the-west-342519">North Korea dubs UN nuclear watchdog a 'dancing marionette of the West'</a>

However, this time, the officials from his administration have not raised an alarm on his disappearance from the pubic eye, and the reason is his past record. Kin Jong Un is known for disappearing from the public eye from time to time. The last time he was not seen for such a long time was in April 2020. Alarms were raised about his health and the international news media had debated about a decline in the leader's health. The situation was thought to be so serious that it was also being sought who would take Kim Jong Un's place if he is deemed unfit for the chair of the leader of the country. However, the leader emerged fit after a few days and attended a ceremony marking the completion of a fertilizer factory, almost a month later.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/satellite-images-suggest-north-korea-may-be-preparing-to-launch-submarine-missile-us-think-tank-325354">Satellite images suggest North Korea may be preparing to launch submarine missile</a>

However, this time, officials claim nothing like that has happened.&nbsp;"We do not attach any special meaning to it as he has gone absent from public view for more than 20 days several times based on past records," the Unification Ministry official said on Thursday.

Kim Jong Un has recently been in the news for&nbsp;row over disappearing of a South Korean official who was reportedly disposed off by Kim Jong Un's soldiers in the sea near the border. The North Korean leader had also apologies, in a rare moment,&nbsp;&nbsp;and had assured an thorough investigation into the matter.

The North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has gone missing yet again. It has been 23 days now since the leader was last spotted by the public, or officials other than his close aides.

The North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has gone missing yet again. It has been 23 days now since the leader was last spotted by the public, or officials other than his close aides. Kim Jong Un was last seen on October 21. He had visited a cemetery in the South Pyongyang province to pay respect to the soldiers who had lost their lives while protecting the kingdom against the Chinese soldiers in the 1950-53 Korean war. Also read| North Korea dubs UN nuclear watchdog a 'dancing marionette of the West' However, this time, the officials from his administration have not raised an alarm on his disappearance from the pubic eye, and the reason is his past record. Kin Jong Un is known for disappearing from the public eye from time to time. The last time he was not seen for such a long time was in April 2020. Alarms were raised about his health and the international news media had debated about a decline in the leader's health. The situation was thought to be so serious that it was also being sought who would take Kim Jong Un's place if he is deemed unfit for the chair of the leader of the country. However, the leader emerged fit after a few days and attended a ceremony marking the completion of a fertilizer factory, almost a month later. Also read| Satellite images suggest North Korea may be preparing to launch submarine missile However, this time, officials claim nothing like that has happened. "We do not attach any special meaning to it as he has gone absent from public view for more than 20 days several times based on past records," the Unification Ministry official said on Thursday. Kim Jong Un has recently been in the news for row over disappearing of a South Korean official who was reportedly disposed off by Kim Jong Un's soldiers in the sea near the border. The North Korean leader had also apologies, in a rare moment, and had assured an thorough investigation into the matter.

North Korea's Kim Jong Un out of public eye for 23 days

North Korean state media says leader Kim Jong-un has made his first public appearance in 20 days amid rumors about his health.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appears in public amid health rumors