Malaysia: No plan to cut relations with DPRK

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Wednesday his country currently has no plan to cut diplomatic relations with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The Malaysian government still needs a channel to talk and to negotiate with the DPRK, Najib told reporters at parliament, adding the current priority is the safety of Malaysian citizens in the DPRK.

“We received information that they are allowed to live their lives as usual. They are not confined, can get out, and do normal business. So there is no concern over their safety,” he said.

Najib said the travel ban on the DPRK citizens in Malaysia will stay while the government is “carefully studying what is the DPRK’s (demand) actually”.

Najib made the remarks after he chaired a National Security Council on Tuesday evening during which he was briefed about the situation.

In a strongly-worded statement, he also accused the DPRK of taking Malaysian citizens hostage and called for their immediate release.

Malaysia and the DPRK had relatively cordial relations until the death of a DPRK man at the Kuala Lumpur airport on Feb 13. The ensuing investigation implicated several DPRK nationals, including a second secretary of the DPRK embassy in Malaysia and an employee from the DPRK national carrier Air Koryo.

Malaysian police said the DPRK man, with the passport name of “Kim Chol”, was poisoned by the lethal nerve agent VX.

While the DPRK demanded the return of the body, the Malaysian police insisted the next-of-kin come for DNA profiling.

Najib said police still need to find the cause of the death of “Kim Chol”.

“When a murder is committed, especially when a chemical weapon is used, we have to protect the interests of the nation,” he said.

Relations between Malaysia and the DPRK further strained after both sides issued a travel ban on each other’s citizens.