Najib: Malaysia reviewing its ties with North Korea

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is reviewing its ties with North Korea and is prepared to sever all connections to the state as international concern mounts over the state’s nuclear and ballistic missile testing.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Malaysia is already considering closing its embassy in Pyongyang, North Korea and instead relegating its service to the Malaysian embassy in Beijing, China.

“Among the issues discussed in my meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump was the situation in the Korean Peninsula, where both nations raised concerns over the peace and security of the Asia Pacific region which is under threat following the nuclear and ballistic missile testing going on in North Korea.

“Malaysia has taken steps to abide by all United Nations resolutions relating to the North Korea threat, including sending back the North Korean diplomatic officers in Malaysia, and we are reviewing our links to North Korea including diplomatic, political and economic relations.

“Malaysia is also considering closing our embassy in Pyongyang and moving it to Beijing, and we have now introduced visas for the entry of North Korean nationals to Malaysia,” he said in reply to a supplementary question by Datuk Seri Ahmad Hamzah (BN - Jasin) in Parliament yesterday.

Ahmad had asked about the issues discussed during Najib’s meeting with Trump in Washington DC, United States last month.

Previously, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman had said that Malaysia has no plans to send an ambassador to Pyongyang again, after the last one was recalled earlier this year.

Malaysia and North Korea were embroiled in a diplomatic crisis over the investigation and possession of the body of Kim Jong-nam, the half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who was killed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 in February.