Malaysia Kicks Out North Korean Ambassador Following Slanderous Remarks
He has been declared as a persona non grata.
By Nandini Balakrishnan — 06 Mar 2017, 11:47 AM
The Malaysian Foreign Ministry has expelled North Korean ambassador from the country. This came after he failed to appear at Wisma Putra despite being summoned to explain his statements regarding Malaysia.
Foreign Minister Anifah Aman released a statement on Saturday, 4 March, informing that Wisma Putra has sent an official notice to the North Korean embassy.
North Korea's ambassador to Malaysia, Kang Chol, has only 48 hours to leave the country, from the scheduled time of the meeting - 6pm, 4 March.
Kang Chol was supposed to be at Wisma Putra at 6pm on 4 March to meet with the Foreign Ministry’s deputy secretary-general for billateral affairs Raja Nushirwan Zainal Abidin, but he had failed to turn up.
"It should be made clear - Malaysia will react strongly against any insults made against it or any attempt to tarnish its reputation," stressed Anifah.
What led to the expulsion of the North Korean ambassador?
Anifah explained that a meeting was held last Tuesday, 28 March, between the Malaysian Foreign Ministry officials and high-level North Korean high-level delegation, to discuss the the recent accusations and statements made by the North Korean government against Malaysia on matters regarding Kim Jong-nam assasination.
"During the meeting, the Malaysian government demanded a written apology from the DPRK for the accusations recently made against Malaysia by the DPRK ambassador.
"The DPRK delegation was informed that if no response is received by 10pm today (28 February), the Malaysian government would take measures that would best protect its interests. Almost four days have passed since the deadline lapsed. No such apology has been made, neither has there been any indication that one is forthcoming," explained Anifah, in a report by Malaysiakini.
On 18 February, Kang Chol had accused Malaysia of colluding with outside powers to defame North Korea. He also said that North Korea "cannot trust" the Malaysian police investigation on Jong-nam's murder. He made claims that it was politically motivated, and rubbished the medical report by the Malaysian authorities that states how Jong-nam was murdered with VX, a banned nerve agent.
Ambassador Kang Chol has now been declared as a persona non grata, thus barring him from entering or remaining in Malaysia
A persona non grata is a foreign national who is prohibited from entering or remaining in a particular country by the country's government. Declaring an ambassador persona non grata was said the be one of the harshest measure a country can take in issues concerning diplomatic relations.
Anifah cited Article 9 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961, which states that if the sending state refuses to recall the ambassador, he/she will no longer be considered a member of a diplomatic mission.
Meanwhile, the North Korean national, Ri Jong-chol, who was arrested in relation to Jong-nam's murder had also accused Malaysia of being part of a conspiracy against Pyongyang. He also claimed that Malaysian authorities threatened to kill his family if he didn't confess to killing Jong-nam.
Jong-chol was released on Friday, 3 March, due to lack of evidence. Anifah said that this clearly proves that Malaysia's investigation on Jong-nam's murder is impartial, fair, and transparent.
The North Korean ambassador's expulsion comes just days after Malaysia terminated the visa-free policy between the two countries:
Also, did you know that there were two North Korean companies in KL that were allegedly selling military gear?