Kim Jong-nam killing: North Korea ambassador expelled as police seek new suspect

MALAYSIA has thrown out North Korea’s ambassador for criticizing the probe into the killing of Kim Jong-nam.

In this June 4, 2010, file photo, dressed in jeans and blue suede loafers, Kim Jong Nam, the eldest son of then North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. Picture: AP.

MALAYSIA has expelled North Korea’s ambassador for criticizing the investigation into the killing of the North Korean leader’s estranged half brother.

Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said in a statement that a notice was sent to the North Korean Embassy on Saturday saying Ambassador Kang Chol must leave the country within 48 hours.

Mr Anifah said that earlier in the week, Malaysia demanded that North Korea apologize for criticizing the investigation into the Februray 13 killing of Kim Jong Nam at Kuala Lumpur’s airport.

Kang Chol, North Korea's ambassador to Malaysia, has been given 48 hours to leave the country. Picture: AFP

He said that no apology had come and that none appeared forthcoming, so Malaysia decided to expel the ambassador.

The news comes a day after Malaysian police issued an arrest warrant for a North Korean airline employee accused in Kim Jong Nam’s poisoning.

Kim Uk-il works for Air Koryo, North Korea’s national airline. Picture: Royal Malaysian police handout/EPA.

National police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said that the warrant was issued for 37-year-old Kim Uk Il, who works for Air Koryo, North Korea’s national carrier. Police say he arrived in Malaysia January 29, about two weeks before Kim Jong Nam was attacked with the nerve agent VX in a Kuala Lumpur airport terminal.

Malaysian authorities have not said why they want to question Kim Uk Il but said they believe he is still in Malaysia.

North Korean Ri Jong Chol was detained in the killing of the half brother of North Korea's leader. Picture: AP.

Meanwhile, another North Korean arrested in the probe claimed the investigation was a “conspiracy” to harm Pyongyang after he was released due to lack of evidence.

Ri Jong-Chol, who is among eight North Koreans suspected of involvement in the killing of Kim Jong-Nam, made the comments to journalists in Beijing, after Malaysia released him citing insufficient evidence.

The investigation was “a conspiracy to impair the dignity of the Republic (North Korea),” the 47-year-old said in comments carried in Japanese and South Korean media.

He denied any involvement in the murder, saying that police had presented him with “fabricated evidence” and said he would be rewarded with a comfortable life in Malaysia if he confessed.

“But no way. No matter how good a life it could be, it is still not as good as my own motherland. How could I forget the motherland that raised me and fed me to this point?” television footage broadcast in South Korea showed him as saying.

This file photo shows Kim Jong Nam, exiled half brother of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, escorted by Japanese police officers at the airport in Narita, Japan. Picture: AP.

Mr Ri, who was the only North Korean detained over the attack, was released and deported two days after two women — one Vietnamese and one Indonesian — were charged with murdering Kim.

Meanwhile, North Korea warned on Saturday the US will “pay dearly” if it puts Pyongyang on a terror list over the killing of Kim.

South Korean and Japanese media, citing diplomatic sources, have since reported that the US has been mulling placing the North back on its terror list, which includes Iran and Syria.

“The US will keenly realise how dearly it has to pay for its groundless accusations against the dignified” North if it puts it back on the terror list, the regime’s foreign ministry spokesman told state-run newswire KCNA.

The spokesman maintained that Pyongyang opposed “all forms of terrorism” and accused the US of trying to tarnish its reputation.

Malaysia’s police chief earlier said he was frustrated by Mr Ri’s release and that he still believed the North Korean played a part in the murder. It is expected Mr Ri will return to Pyongyang from Beijing.

He was arrested days after Kim suffered an agonising death after he was attacked as he waited to board a flight to Macau.

CCTV footage shows two women approaching the heavy-set 45-year-old and apparently smearing his face with a cloth.

Vietnamese national Doan Thi Huong (L), 28, is escorted after a court appearance with Indonesian national Siti Aisyah, 25, at the magistrates' court in Sepang on March 1, 2017, for their alleged role in the assassination of Kim Jong-Nam. Picture: AFP.

Police say he suffered a seizure and died less than 20 minutes later. Swabs of the dead man’s face revealed traces of VX, a synthetic chemical so deadly that it is classed as a weapon of mass destruction.

South Korea has pointed the finger of blame at North Korea, citing what they say was a standing order from leader Kim Jong-un to kill his exiled half-brother who may have been seen as a potential rival.

North Korea, which has not acknowledged the dead man’s identity, has vehemently protested the investigation, saying Malaysia is in cahoots with its enemies.

The accusation has fuelled a diplomatic rift, which has seen Malaysia recall its envoy to Pyongyang and cancel a rare visa-free travel deal with North Korea.