Speaking of state-sponsored assassinations, one of the strangest was that of Kim Jong-nam at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia on February 13, 2017.

Kim Jong-nam was the son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il and heir to his father, but rumor has it he fell out of favor after embarrassing the family by trying to visit Tokyo Disneyland – the showcase of capitalism and Western degeneracy – with a fake passport.

Whatever the reason, he was exiled in 2003, taking up residence in Macau from where he advocated for reforms and boldly predicted the fall of North Korea’s new leader, his half brother Kim Jong-Un, in 2012.

Kim Jong-un doomed, says his brother 

According to Lee Byung-ho, the director of the South’s National Intelligence Service, there was a standing order to assassinate Kim Jong-nam who escaped an attempt on his life in 2012

This prompted him to send his half-brother a letter pleading with him to rescind the order. Kim Jong-Un was apparently unmoved, especially after rumors circulated that Kim Jong-nam had had dealings with the CIA.

At approximately 9:00 a.m. on February 13, 2017, Kim Jong-Un was accosted by two women at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Shortly after, he complained of feeling unwell. He died on his way to hospital.

The two women were arrested but an investigation revealed they had been duped by North Korean agents who had convinced them they were participating in a prank show.

The two women had been recruited a month earlier by a “producer” who tasked them with varied gags that involved them approaching men in public and either kissing them on the cheek or playing peekaboo by stepping up behind them and covering their eyes.

The women would quickly apologize, explaining they had mistaken the stranger for someone else, presumably leaving the victim startled, embarrassed, or amused.

Eventually, the pranks progressed to the point where a gel or liquid would be applied to their hands that they would transfer to their surprised victims. The women claimed they made $100-$200 a prank.

On the day of the assassination, they were given a foreign substance to apply to their hands. One woman was instructed to approach the victim from behind and clap their hands over his eyes in a peek-a-book gesture…

While the second woman would follow up by approaching from in front and laying her palm on his face. The women were unaware of the identity of their target, Kim Jong-nam.

The Untold Story of Kim Jong-nam’s Assassination

They were apparently also unaware of the fact that the combination of chemicals applied to their victim was the VX nerve agent.

What Is VX Nerve Agent?

Presumably, the women escaped serious harm because the toxin would have had to be absorbed through their skin – but they had been instructed to wash their hands after the gag because the gel would stain their clothing.

Kim Jong-nam, on the other hand, had the nerve agent enter through his eyes and nose, and the effects were more powerful and immediate.

Attempts by the women to reach the “producer” of the prank show proved unsuccessful, their calls going to a number that was no longer in service.

The women were tried for murder. One murder, an Indonesian national, had the charges against her dismissed while the other, a Vietnamese national, was found guilty of the lesser charge of “”voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means”.

She was released a month later and there were reports that North Korea had issued an informal apology to Vietnam for involving one of its citizens in the assassination.