Meanwhile, South Korea said it is now “certain” that Kim Jong Un’s regime ordered the slaying.
SEOUL — North Korea said Monday that Malaysia cannot be trusted to carry out the investigation into last week’s killing of leader Kim Jong Un’s half brother, as tensions over the death become increasingly heated.
With South Korea saying it was “certain” that Pyongyang was behind the “act of terrorism” and Malaysia insisting it will continue following establish procedures, the already sensational case is becoming more dramatic by the day.
Adding to the intrigue: CCTV footage released Monday showing the attack on Kim Jong Nam at Kuala Lumpur airport. The 45-year-old North Korean is seen going to the check-in kiosk, when two women ambush him and appear to apply what authorities have said was a poison. He died shortly afterward.
North Korea has become angrier by the day over case, accusing Malaysia of colluding with South Korea to try to make it look bad, and of “human rights abuses” over the way the autopsy was conducted and its treatment of a North Korean suspect and his family.
“We cannot trust the investigation by the Malaysian police,” Kang Chol, Pyongyang’s envoy, told reporters outside the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur Monday afternoon, noting that there had been no evidence of the cause of death even a week after the attack.
[ Malaysia arrests North Korean man in connection with death of Kim Jong Un’s half brother ]
“It only increases the doubt that there could be someone else’s hand behind the investigation,” he said, echoing a previous allegation that South Korea was trying to malign North Korea, and accusing Malaysia of defaming Pyongyang’s reputation.
He proposed that North Korea and Malaysia should open a joint investigation into Kim Jong Nam’s death.
Kang’s statement came after he was summoned to the Malaysian foreign ministry over his criticism of Kuala Lumpur’s investigation. Meanwhile, Malaysia recalled its ambassador to Pyongyang for “consultations.”
“The Malaysian government regards as unfounded the criticisms made by the North Korean ambassador,” Malaysia’s ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement earlier Monday.
