Kim body to be sent to North Korea, Malaysians freed

Nine Malaysians, who were barred from leaving North Korea after diplomatic ties deteriorated between the two countries, were on their way home, said Malaysia prime minister Najib Razak.

KUALA LUMPUR // The body of Kim Jong-nam will be sent to North Korea and nine Malaysians in Pyongyang will be allowed to leave, Malaysia prime minister Najib Razak said on Thursday.

North Korean citizens in Malaysia will also be allowed to return home, the statement said.

Kim, 45, the half-brother of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un, was poisoned at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on February 13 in a brazen Cold War-style assassination using a lethal nerve agent banned by the UN as a weapon of mass destruction.

“Following the completion of the autopsy on the deceased and receipt of a letter from his family requesting the remains be returned to North Korea, the coroner has approved the release of the body,” said Mr Najib.

The premier also announced that nine Malaysians barred from leaving North Korea after diplomatic ties worsened “have now been allowed to return to Malaysia”.

“They took off from Pyongyang today at 7.45pm Malaysian time, and will land in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow around 5am,” he said, without mentioning Kim by name, referring to hims only as “the deceased”.

“I had a deep personal concern about this matter, and we worked intensively behind the scenes to achieve this successful outcome. Many challenges were overcome to ensure the return of our fellow Malaysians. The safety and security of our citizens will always be my first priority,” he said.

North Korea also released a statement which said both countries managed to “resolve issues arising from the death of a DPRK national” in Malaysia at a meeting in Kuala Lumpur. DPRK stands for North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

“The importance of bilateral relations was reaffirmed. In this connection, both countries agreed to positively discuss the re-introduction of the visa-free system and work towards bringing the relations to a higher level,” it said.

Malaysia imposed a travel ban on North Koreans leaving the South-east Asian country in a tit-for-tat move after Pyongyang barred Malaysians from leaving its borders. Mr Najib said on Thursday that North Koreans will now be allowed to leave Malaysia.

Two women, one Vietnamese and one Indonesian, have been arrested and charged with the murder. Airport CCTV footage shows them approaching the 45-year-old victim and apparently smearing his face with a piece of cloth.

South Korea has blamed Pyongyang for the killing, citing what they say was a standing order from the North Korean leaer to kill his exiled half-brother.

But the North denies it and has denounced Malaysia’s investigation as an attempt to smear the secretive regime.

* Agence France-Pressea and Reuters