I REFER to the article “Out in 48 hours” where North Korean Ambassador Kang Chol (pic) was ordered to leave Malaysia in that timeframe and declared persona non grata.
Ordinarily, one would expect a country to handle such matters gracefully. However taking into account Kang Chol’s actions in the weeks following the assassination of a North Korean citizen at KLIA2, the move to expel him is certainly the right one.
He had stated that North Korea “cannot trust” the investigation by the Malaysian police and alleged that there was someone else’s hand behind the investigation and Malaysia was “working together with hostile forces” of North Korea.
Malaysia has made clear that these actions are “diplomatically rude.” Kang Chol also ignored Malaysia’s summons to present himself at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to Article 3 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961), the functions of a diplomatic mission include protecting the interest of the sending state within the limit permitted by international law.
The functions also include promoting friendly relations between the sending state and the receiving state and to develop their economic, cultural and scientific relations.
Further to that, Article 41 states that it is the duty of all persons enjoying diplomatic privileges and immunities to respect the laws and regulations of the receiving state, in this case, those of Malaysia. They also have a duty not to interfere with the internal affairs of the receiving state.
Diplomatic privileges and immunities under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations are subject to the general purpose and principles concerning sovereign equality of the states, the maintenance of international peace and security, and the promotion of friendly relations among the states.
These fundamental principles shall be respected, even in the case of armed conflict.
Now that Kang Chol has been declared persona non grata in Malaysia, it is only right for North Korea to recall him. Otherwise, Malaysia may refuse to recognise him as a member of a diplomatic mission. In such case, his function as diplomatic agent comes to an end (Article 43) and the diplomatic privileges and immunities shall cease (Article 39).
At the time of writing, world attention is on his movements. However, it should be noted that even if he does not leave the country and continue to stay on, the North Korean Embassy premises is inviolable. Pursuant to Article 22, a receiving state shall not enter the premises and the embassy premises shall be immune from search, requisition, attachment or execution.
It is also believed that the embassy’s second secretary Hyon Kwang-song, one of those sought in connection with the case, is also staying in the premises. As a diplomatic agent, he still enjoys the immunity from criminal jurisdiction of the receiving State. He is inviolable and shall not be liable to any form of arrest or detention (Article 29 and Article 31). If the situation requires, Malaysia may also declare him persona non grata and strip him from diplomatic immunity. However, there are challenges of criminal investigation or prosecution if he continues to stay in the embassy premises due to the inviolability issue.
I applaud the Malaysian authorities’ professionalism in handling this matter, by respecting and adhering to the international laws. In recent years, there were incidents that affected diplomatic relations between two or more states, such as the MH370 air tragedy. However, foreign relations between Malaysia and China remained steady and strong.
One of the reasons was the collaborative and rational approach of China’s ambassador Dr Huang Huikang.
In this assassination case, there are suspects from other nationalities, namely Vietnam and Indonesia. It is reasonable for the embassies to provide legal support to the suspects. None of them has cast doubt or insulted the professionalism and integrity of the Malaysian investigation team.
It looks like the diplomatic row will not end anytime soon. All parties must act within the permitted legal framework. We must handle diplomatic matters, diplomatically.
DATUK TEH TAI YONG
Petaling Jaya
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