Malaysians taken virtual hostage in N. Korea in diplomatic row

By Park Sae-jin Posted : March 7, 2017, 14:02 Updated : March 7, 2017, 14:02

North Korean Ambassador to Malaysia Kang Chol is escorted by Malaysian law enforcers to Kuala Lumpur International Airport. [Yonhap Photo]


A diplomatic tussle between Pyongyang and Kuala Lumpur escalated Tuesday after North Korea imposed a travel ban on Malaysians, effectively taking them hostage. Malaysia retaliated by dosing the same.

Malaysians should stay in North Korea until it secures the safety of its diplomats and people in the Southeast Asian country, Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

The North's foreign ministry has sent a notification to the Malaysian embassy in Pyongyang, KCNA said, adding the ban would be kept "until the incident in Malaysia is resolved in a fair manner". The ban does not affect the daily life of Malaysians living in North Korea.

The North's move came after Malaysia canceled its visa-waiver program with North Korea and expelled North Korean Ambassador to Malaysia Kang Chol. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said Monday that Malaysia expelled Kang to defend its sovereignty and national pride.

North Korea got even with the expulsion of Malaysia's top envoy in Pyongyang. Before heading home, Kang described his expulsion as an "extreme measure" arguing that his criticism over Malaysia's investigation into the killing of Kim Jong-nam was "fair."

The two countries have been locked in a war of nerves over the killing of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's half-brother. South Korea's spy agency has charactered the murder of Kim Jong-nam on February 13 as a "terrorist attack" led by North Korean state bodies.

The brother was attacked by two women when he was waiting for a flight to Macau. The women -- one from Vietnam and one from Indonesia -- used bare hands to rub toxic substances which the Malaysian law enforcers identified as VX, a chemical weapon classified as a weapon of mass destruction.

Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com
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