North Korean diplomats leave Malaysia after severing relations
Pyongyang says extradition of its citizen to US carried out in blind obedience to Americans
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North Korean charge d'affaires Kim Yu Song yesterday accused Malaysia of siding with Washington in a "conspiracy" against Pyongyang, and committing a "large hostile act". He made the statement outside his country's embassy in Kuala Lumpur, before he and other embassy staff left Malaysia for home.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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KUALA LUMPUR • North Korea's diplomats in Malaysia shuttered their embassy and flew home yesterday, after Pyongyang severed diplomatic ties over the extradition of a citizen to the US.
Pyongyang announced last Friday's shock move, labelling Malaysia's extradition of a North Korean man an "unpardonable crime" carried out under "blind obedience" to American pressure.
The South-east Asian country had been one of Pyongyang's few allies but relations were strained following the assassination in 2017 of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's half-brother at Kuala Lumpur airport.
A court ruling earlier this month that Mun Chol Myong could be extradited to the United States to face money laundering charges for allegedly exporting prohibited items to the North in violation of sanctions proved the final blow.
Mun was arrested in 2019 after the US accused him of laundering funds through front companies and issuing fraudulent documents to support illicit shipments to North Korea. He fought the extradition request, arguing that it was politically motivated.
After Pyongyang cut ties, Malaysia gave North Korea's diplomats 48 hours to leave the country.
Yesterday, the North Korean flag and a plaque were taken down from the country's embassy - a large house in an upmarket area of Kuala Lumpur - and the gates were chained up.
Malaysia had expelled the diplomats "in response to the DPRK's unilateral and utterly irresponsible decision to sever diplomatic ties", Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein tweeted yesterday, using the official name of North Korea.
"This action is a reminder that Malaysia shall never tolerate any attempt to meddle in our internal affairs and judiciary, disrespect our governance system, and constantly create unnecessary tensions in defiance of the rules-based international order," the minister said.
Before departing, North Korean charge d'affaires Kim Yu Song accused Malaysia of siding with Washington in a "conspiracy" against Pyongyang, and committing a "large hostile act".
"This incident is an outright product of an anti-DPRK conspiracy created from a heinous policy by the United States," he added.
Malaysia had aligned its policies with those of the US, "which seeks to deprive our state of its sovereignty, peaceful existence and development", Mr Kim, North Korea's most senior diplomat in Malaysia, told a large media pack.
Mr Kim and what appeared to be a group of diplomats and their family members then departed on a bus. They arrived later at Kuala Lumpur airport, loaded stacks of luggage onto trolleys and went to check in at the counters used by regular passengers.
Pyongyang's decision to cut ties came after a visit last week by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin to South Korea, part of an Asian tour to rally support against the nuclear-armed North and China.
Malaysia has denounced Pyongyang's move as "unfriendly and unconstructive", and announced it would close its mission in the North, whose operations had already been suspended since 2017.
"The government of Malaysia is now compelled by the decision of the DPRK to close the embassy in Pyongyang whose operation has been suspended since 2017," said the Foreign Ministry.
It is understood that there were 33 North Koreans, including diplomatic employees' family members, at the embassy.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
