Malaysia summons NK ambassador over Kim Jong Nam death
Malaysia said Monday that it recalled its ambassador to North Korea and summoned Pyongyang’s envoy as tensions rose over the assassination of Kim Jong Nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Malaysian police have arrested four people from Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and North Korea in relation to the apparent poisoning at the Kuala Lumpur airport last Monday.
The Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Kang Chol, North Korea’s ambassador to Malaysia Monday after he implied at a press conference Friday that the Malaysian government had “something to conceal” in the death, Malaysian newspaper The Star reported.
“The Malaysian Government views the criticism made by the Ambassador of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea as baseless,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
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Speaking to reporters Monday, Kang said Malaysia’s investigation was politically motivated and called for the international community to work with North Korea on a joint investigation, the Associated Press reported.
“The investigation by the Malaysian police is not for the clarification of the cause of the death and search of the suspect, but it is out of the political aim,” he said.
Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Razak defended the investigation Monday, saying he had “absolute confidence” that police and doctors have been “very objective,” the AP reported.
It came as surveillance footage obtained by Fuji TV, a Japanese broadcaster, appeared to show two women approaching Kim Jong Nam as he stood in the airport terminal.
The footage shows one woman — thought to be a Vietnamese national — come up behind him before appearing to put something over his mouth. The women each walk off in different directions before Kim apparently asks airport workers for help. Kim died en route to a hospital, Malaysian authorities said.
One of the arrested suspects, Siti Aisyah, 25, an Indonesian national, claims she was tricked into the killing. Indonesian Police Chief Tito Karnavian told The Associated Press that she was paid to take part in a prank for the TV show Just For Laughs. The stunts involved her and another woman persuading men to close their eyes and spraying them with water.
"Such an action was done three or four times and they were given a few dollars for it, and with the last target, Kim Jong Nam, allegedly there were dangerous materials in the sprayer," Karnavian told the AP.
Malaysian police said Sunday that they were searching for four North Korean men who flew out of Malaysia last Monday, and want to question three other people.