KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) – North Korean diplomats left their embassies in Malaysia and were expelled on Sunday after the two nations severed diplomatic relations in an argument over the extradition of a North Korean suspect to the United States.
The North Korean flag and embassy signs were removed from the suburban Kuala Lumpur property. Two buses took the diplomats and their families to the airport, where they were seen checking in for a flight to Shanghai.
Malaysian Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the expulsion was in response to Pyongyang’s “unilateral and utterly irresponsible decision” on Friday to sever diplomatic ties.
“This move is a reminder that Malaysia will never tolerate any attempt to interfere with our internal affairs and justice, disrespect our governance system and constantly create unnecessary tensions in violation of the rules-based international order,” he said in a statement .
Ties between North Korea and Malaysia have virtually frozen since the 2017 murder of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s estranged half-brother at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
Two days after Kuala Lumpur extradited a North Korean man to the US to be charged with money laundering, an enraged North Korea announced Friday that it was ending ties with Malaysia. Malaysia denounced the decision, giving North Korean diplomats 48 hours to leave.
Kim Yu Song, the chargé d’affaires and councilor in Kuala Lumpur, said Malaysia had “committed an unforgivable crime”. Echoing Pyongyang’s earlier statement, he accused Malaysia of being subordinate to the US and part of an American conspiracy aimed at ‘isolating and suffocating’ his country.
“The Malaysian authority eventually delivered our citizen to the US, destroying the foundations of bilateral relations based on respect for sovereignty,” he said in a brief statement outside the embassy before heading to the airport.
North Korea has called the money laundering allegations an “absurd fabrication and (a) pure conspiracy” orchestrated by the US, warning that Washington will “pay a fair price.”
Some experts say cutting ties with Malaysia was North Korea’s way of showing anger at President Joe Biden’s administration without jeopardizing a possible return to nuclear negotiations with Washington.
North Korea has insisted that it will not enter into talks with Washington unless it renounces what Pyongyang sees as a “hostile” policy. But experts say North Korea will eventually try to return to diplomacy to find ways to get relief from sanctions and revive its dying economy.
Malaysia has defended its attempt to extradite Mun Chol Myong, saying it was not executed until all legal proceedings had been exhausted. A high court ruled that Mun could be extradited after he dismissed his appeal on the grounds that the US charges were politically motivated.
Mun, who lived in Malaysia for ten years and was arrested in May 2019, denies US allegations that while working in the city-state, he was involved in supplying luxury goods from Singapore to North Korea in violation of UN sanctions. He denied money laundering through front companies and the issue of fraudulent documents in support of illegal shipments to his country.
North Korea has long used Malaysia as a pivotal economic hub dealing with trade, labor exports and some illegal businesses in Southeast Asia, but their relationships suffered major setbacks during the 2017 Kim Jong Nam assassination.
Two women – one Indonesian and the other Vietnamese – were charged with colluding with four North Koreans to kill Kim Jong Nam by smearing his face with VX nerve agent. The four North Koreans fled Malaysia the day Kim died. The two women were later released after trial.
Malaysian officials have never officially charged North Korea with involvement in Kim’s death, but prosecutors made it clear during the trial that they suspected a North Korean connection.
North Korea denied that the victim was Kim Jong Nam and disputed that it played a role in the man’s death. Longtime North Korean onlookers believe that Kim Jong Un ordered the murder of his brother as part of efforts to eliminate potential rivals and tighten his grip on power.