Two foreign women have been charged with the murder of Kim Jong-nam, the half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Indonesian Siti Aisyah, 25, and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong, 28, both understood the charge under Section 302 of the Penal Code, and that they face the death penalty if found guilty.

They were charged in the Magistrate's Court in Sepang.

The charge sheet states that there are four other accused, who are currently at large.

Although no plea was recorded, Siti Aisyah shook her head to mean 'no' when her translator accidentally asked if she would plead guilty.

Meanwhile, Doan at first appeared to not understand the charge read out by her translator.

However, when a court police officer stepped in to clarify the matter and asked in English whether she understood the charge, Doan replied: "I understand."

Doan's lawyer S Selvam Shamugam later told reporters that his client is innocent.

"Definitely she is innocent," Selvam said.

Siti Aisyah and Doan were charged separately.

Both wore bulletproof vests

They were not handcuffed. Siti Aisyah, who has red dyed hair, was wearing a red shirt, while Doan, whose hair was partially dyed blonde, was wearing a yellow T-shirt.

The women arrived at court under heavy security, escorted by masked and armed policemen.

Both were wearing bulletproof vests when they were on the way to court but took them off in court later.

Lead prosecutor Muhammad Iskandar Ahmad told reporters that he will apply for the two to be tried together.

Kim Jong-nam was murdered on Feb 13.

Siti Aisyah and Doan are said to have smeared a toxic substance on Jong-nam's face at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA 2).

It was later established that the assailants had used VX nerve agent.

During the hearing earlier, the prosecution applied for the case to be mentioned again on April 13, to grant the prosecution time to gather all the case facts.

They also requested for the case to be then transferred to the High Court in Shah Alam.

Sessions Court judge Harith Sham Mohamed Yasin, sitting as a magistrate, then adjourned the case to April 13.

Siti Aisyah was represented by five lawyers from the firm of Gooi & Azura, who were appointed by the Indonesian embassy.

Also present in court were Indonesian acting ambassador Andreano Erwin, Indonesian head of consular affairs Yusron Ambari and Vietnamese deputy chief of mission Ton Thi Ngoc Huong.