The news portal, quoting a well-placed source, as saying no charges were expected to be brought against him.

No reasons were given for doing this by the attorney-general, the report said.

When asked whether charges would be brought against the suspect, Attorney-General Mohamed Apandi Ali responded via a text message saying: “(It) will be decided by Friday when his remand order expires.”

Software engineer Ri Jong Chol, 46, was arrested on Feb 17 at his apartment.

Ri is believed to have acted as a driver for four North Korean suspects who are thought to have masterminded and executed the plan to assassinate Jong Nam, the half-brother of North Korea’s leader, at the KL International Airport 2 (klia2) on Feb 13.

They fled Malaysia on the day of the attack, escaping via Jakarta-Dubai-Vladivostok before arriving back in Pyongyang on Feb 17. South Korea’s National Intelligence Agency has confirmed that the four orchestrated the killing of Jong Nam.

Two women, Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong and Indonesian Siti Aisyah, were today charged with murdering the North Korean.

They were alleged to have smeared a nerve agent on his face while he was waiting for a flight to Macau.

Malaysian police are seeking a number of other North Koreans suspects, including the second secretary of the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur and an employee of Air Koryo, the country’s flagship carrier.

Another report said police also want to question Kim Jong Nam’s mistress, who has been named as So Yong Ra, a former flight attendant.