Malaysia expels all North Korean diplomats and closes its embassy in Pyongyang

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia expels all diplomats North Korea (North Korea) by ordering them to leave the country within 48 hours of Friday afternoon. Kuala Lumpur also officially announced the closure of its embassy in Pyongyang.

The decision was announced by the Malaysian Foreign Ministry in response to the severance of diplomatic ties to North Korea or the DPRK several hours earlier.

Also read: Cut Off Relations, Kim Jong-un Regime Threatens Malaysia

The breakdown in bilateral relations followed a Malaysian court decision to extradite a North Korean national, Mun Chol Myong, to United States of America (US) on March 17, after his appeal against extradition was rejected earlier in the month. The North Korean man who lives in Malaysia was extradited to America to face charges of money laundering.

“The government will issue an order for all diplomatic staff and their dependents at the DPRK Embassy in Kuala Lumpur to leave Malaysia within 48 hours from today, 19 March 2021,” said a Foreign Ministry statement on Friday.

The announcement added that North Korea’s decision to cut diplomatic ties now forces Kuala Lumpur to close the Malaysian Embassy in Pyongyang, which has been temporarily closed since the DPRK’s assassination of Kim Jong-nam in February 2017.

“Malaysia has the right to respond to the DPRK’s decision to protect our sovereignty and to protect our national interests,” the ministry continued. The ministry believes its position will be “fully appreciated and understood by our friends and partners”.

“Malaysia deeply regrets Pyongyang’s approach to extradition,” continued the ministry’s announcement, noting that it had always considered the DPRK a close partner since the establishment of diplomatic ties some four decades earlier.

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