KUALA LUMPUR, March 21 — North Korea has today closed its embassy in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur, after Malaysia extradited over a North Korean man to US.
North Korea’s diplomats said the Pyongyang severed diplomatic ties over the extradition of its citizen to the US, which they labelled it as an “unpardonable crime” carried out under “blind obedience” to American pressure.
Malaysia`s diplomatic relation with the Pyongyang became strained since 2017 following the assassination of leader Kim Jong-un’s half-brother at Kuala Lumpur airport.
The North Korean man Mun Chol-myong was extradited to the US to face money laundering charges for allegedly exporting prohibited items to the North in violation of sanctions proved the final blow, according to the court ruling.
According to media reports, North Korean charge d’affaires, Kim Yu-song, accused Malaysia of ‘conspiring’ with Washington against Pyongyang and committing a “large hostile act”.
