The two women accused of the murder of a DPRK man have been called to submit their defenses in the trial in Malaysia. The victim was Kim Jong Nam, the estranged half brother of DPRK leader Kim Jong Un. The judge said the prosecution had presented enough evidence to support the charge the women knew they were using a deadly nerve agent on Kim Jong Nam. Kim was poisoned by the substance and died shortly afterwards. The women still claim they thought they were taking part in video prank show. Rian Maelzer has more details from Malaysia.

RIAN MAELZER SHAH ALAM, MALAYSIA "Almost exactly 18 months after Kim Jong Nam was assassinated at Kuala Lumpur's budget air terminal, Indonesian Siti Aisyah and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong, this was the day they would have prayed they'd be acquitted of murder."

Instead, the judge ruled that the prosecution had established a prima facie case - in other words, that the evidence at this stage points to the women's guilt. Doan and Siti Aisyah will now have to present their defence. Both have said they will testify.

HISYAM TEI POH TEK LAWYER FOR DOAN THI HUONG "This is not the final decision of his Lordship. It's only the end of the prima facie, end of the witnesses for the prosecution. So now the next state is the defence stage, that's our version. So all is not lost. There's still plenty of hope and we are confident."

The judge said he didn't think the actions of the two accused were consistent with being tricked. He said from airport CCTV footage, either women to looked tense immediately after the attack and rushed to the toilet, he believed to swiftly to wash the deadly VX nerve agent from their hands.

GOOI SOON SENG LAWYER FOR SITI AISYAH "Intention is a very difficult element to prove and the judge said that. He makes certain evaluations and makes certain inferences and he drew the inference that they had the intention. And we are not happy about that of course."

The judge said the evidence supported the charge that the women conspired with the four DPRK men who fled the country right afterwards and whom police described as the masterminds and he didn't rule out a political assassination.

RIAN MAELZER SHAH ALAM, MALAYSIA "Siti Aisyah broke down in tears after the judgement. And an official from the Indonesian embassy said they were shocked and disappointed but respected the judge's decision. Siti Aisyah will start to mount her defence in November, with Doan due to give her side of the story starting in January. Both women face the death penalty if convicted. Rian Maelzer, CGTN, Shah Alam, Malaysia."