MALAYSIA said it has agreed to release the body of Kim Jong Nam to North Korea in exchange for the return of nine Malaysians held in the North's capital.
Relations between Malaysia and North Korea have been badly frayed by the murder of the North Korean leader's half-brother at Kuala Lumpur's airport.
Both countries withdrew their ambassadors and North Korea blocked nine Malaysians from leaving the country.
Malaysia responded in kind, barring North Koreans from exiting its soil.
Following negotiations that he described as "very sensitive", Prime Minister Najib Razak said that North Korea had allowed the nine Malaysians to leave, and that Malaysia had agreed to release Mr Kim's remains to North Korea.
He did not say if Mr Kim's body had left Malaysia.
Mr Kim was poisoned at the airport on February 13 by two women using a banned nerve agent, according to Malaysian officials.
North Korea, which is widely suspected to be behind the attack, has rejected the post-mortem examination findings.
