Malaysia Declares North Korean Ambassador Persona Non Grata

Ri was detained on February 17, four days after Kim, the older estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, was killed by two women at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2, the Malaysian capital’s budget air terminal.

Malaysia’s attorney-general told Reuters on Thursday he was being released due to insufficient evidence.

“He is a free man”.

“He has no proper (travel) documents so we will deport him”.

Four others are thought to have fled to Pyongyang on the day of the murder.

Police say he suffered a seizure and died less than 20 minutes later, without reaching hospital.

Malaysian authorities said the substance was VX nerve agent, a deadly chemical weapon banned under worldwide law.

Malaysia has charged an Indonesian woman and a Vietnamese woman with murder. If found guilty, they will face the death penalty.

The women, who could face the death penalty, have told diplomats from their countries that they had believed they were carrying out a prank for a reality television show.

US and South Korean officials have said he was killed by agents of the North Korean regime.

But as Doan Thi Huong arrived at a courthouse to be formally charged with the murder of Kim Jong Nam, she had a very different look _ tear-filled eyes and a bulletproof vest.

The severe strain on the relationship follows decades of friendly relations between the two countries.

Malaysian public health authorities have refused Pyongyang’s requests to turn over Kim’s corpse and announced plans to release the body to his family members.

The North Korean representative also failed to turn up for a meeting at the Malaysian foreign ministry on Saturday, he added. The notice said Kang must leave Malaysia within 48 hours. “We will act firmly to guarantee the safety of our people”.

“If you accept everything, you can live a good life in Malaysia”.

VX requires a highly sophisticated laboratory to produce, so the agent’s use in Kim’s killing has raised suspicions of the North’s involvement, as few organizations outside of national governments would have the resources necessary.

The dramatic killing at Kuala Lumpur airport prompted an worldwide probe, lurid stories of North Korea’s Cold War-style tradecraft and a bitter war of words between Malaysia and Pyongyang.

According to Ebihara, citizens from 12 countries were alleged to have been kidnapped by North Korean agents including from Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Jordan, Lebanon, Romania and France.

On Saturday, speaking publicly for the first time since his detention, Ri said the Malaysian police probe was a ploy to “impair” North Korea’s dignity.

Ahmad Zahid strongly hinted that he believes other suspects in the investigation are hiding at the North Korean embassy.

McLaughlin said the North “particularly would want to make sure that China would not have someone handy that they could install in the event Kim Jong Un was removed or fell from power”.