Malaysia, North Korea ratchet up war of words

KUALA LUMPUR — North Korea’s state media broke a 10-day silence yesterday on the murder of leader Kim Jong-un’s half-brother, launching an assault on Malaysia for its “immoral” handling of the case and for playing politics with the corpse, as the diplomatic spat between the two sides worsened.

Putrajaya is considering expelling North Korea’s envoy to Malaysia or shutting its embassy in Pyongyang and ending visa-free travel for North Koreans entering Malaysia, said a senior Malaysian government official familiar with the issue.

The official said Malaysia was preparing a response, which could include declaring the ambassador “persona non grata”. Such a move would be the strongest response Malaysia could take against a foreign diplomat, and would mean Mr Kang Chol would have to leave the country.

In Pyongyang’s first comments on the airport assassination of Kim Jong-nam, the official state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Malaysia bore responsibility for the death, and accused it of conspiring with South Korea.

“Malaysia is obliged to hand his body back to the DPRK (North Korea) side as it made an autopsy and forensic examination of it in an illegal manner,” said the North Korean Jurists Committee, in comments carried by the KCNA.

Putrajaya had initially told Pyongyang that the person bearing a diplomatic passport had died after suffering a heart attack at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 on Feb 13, said the news agency.

Malaysia has not released the corpse “under the absurd pretext” that it needs a DNA sample from the dead man’s family, it said in a lengthy statement that never identified the victim.

“This proves that the Malaysian side is going to politicise the transfer of the body in utter disregard of international law and morality and thus attain a sinister purpose,” it said.

KCNA, citing a spokesman for a state committee, said Malaysia quickly changed its position and started to complicate the matter after reports surfaced in South Korea that the man was poisoned to death.

The report also said: “What merits more serious attention is the fact that the unjust acts of the Malaysian side are timed to coincide with the anti-DPRK conspiratorial racket launched by the South Korean authorities.”

On Wednesday, Malaysian police named a North Korean diplomat along with a state airline official who are wanted for questioning over the murder of Kim Jong-nam. Malaysia’s police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said both were in Malaysia but could not confirm if they were in the North Korean embassy.

So far, police have identified a total of eight North Koreans suspected of being linked to the killing. One is in custody. The authorities have also detained a Vietnamese woman, an Indonesian woman and a Malaysian man.

Malaysia has denied North Korea’s request for the body to be handed over to its embassy directly, saying it would be released to the next of kin, although none has come forward.

The KCNA report also accused Putrajaya of breaking international law by conducting autopsies on a person bearing a diplomatic passport.

Meanwhile, South Korea used giant loudspeakers to blast news of the dramatic assassination of Kim Jong-nam across the border with its reclusive northern neighbour. “Kim Jong-nam ... died after being attacked by two unidentified women at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia,” blared the message, which was replayed by Seoul’s MBC TV station.

News of the outside world is heavily restricted and censored in Pyongyang under the Kim family, which has ruled for decades with an iron fist and pervasive personality cult. AGENCIES