Kuala Lumpur (AFP) - Malaysian prosecutors on Monday dropped a murder charge against a Vietnamese woman -- the last remaining suspect in custody over the assassination of the North Korean leader's half-brother.
Doan Thi Huong pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of "causing injury" and is set to walk free next month due to sentence reductions.
It came after authorities last month rejected a request for her murder charge to be dropped entirely -- a shock decision after the charge against her Indonesian co-defendant, Siti Aisyah, was withdrawn.
The women would have been sentenced to death by hanging if convicted of the brazen murder of Kim Jong Nam at a Malaysian airport in February 2017.
Here is a timeline of key events in the killing.
The Hit
A portly North Korean man, later identified as Kim Jong Nam, dies after being attacked at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on February 13. Seoul points the finger at its northern neighbour and says it was a political hit aimed at weeding out potential rivals to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Malaysian detectives track down two migrant women -- one Vietnamese and one Indonesian -- who they say are seen on CCTV carrying out the attack.
The two women, who are eventually charged with murder, say they had been paid to carry out what they thought was a prank for a reality TV show.
An autopsy reveals Kim died from exposure to the VX nerve agent, an artificial chemical so deadly it is banned under international treaty and classified by the UN as a weapon of mass destruction.
The Fallout
Kuala Lumpur arrests North Korean citizen Ri Jong Chol in connection with the murder. Over the following days investigators say diplomats and airline employees from the isolated regime are also wanted for questioning.All are holed up at the North Korean embassy or have already left the country.
North Korea pours scorn on what it calls "absurd" claims that VX was used, saying South Korea and the US are mounting a smear campaign against it.
Pyongyang insists the dead man was called Kim Chol and demands his body be returned.Investigators refuse to release the corpse.
Malaysia cancels a visa-free travel deal with North Korea and expels North Korea's ambassador.Pyongyang hits back, kicking out Malaysia's envoy.
Tensions escalate after North Korea bans all Malaysians from leaving Pyongyang.Malaysia retaliates and the international community calls for calm amid allegations of hostage holding.
The Detente
In early March, Ri Jong Chol is released from custody and deported from Malaysia.Frustrated Malaysian police say they believed he was involved in the plot but lacked evidence to prove it.
At the end of the month, Malaysia's then-prime minister Najib Razak announces an agreement has been reached to return Kim Jong Nam's body to North Korea.Nine Malaysians stuck in Pyongyang will be free to leave and North Koreans in Kuala Lumpur will be allowed to go home.
In October, the two women go on trial over the murder.They maintain their innocence.
Four men formally accused on a charge sheet of plotting with the women to murder Kim Jong Nam are identified by a police officer as North Koreans who fled Malaysia immediately after the assassination.
The women's lawyers insist the North Koreans are the real masterminds.
