Malaysia said Sunday that its expulsion of North Korea’s ambassador was intended to warn Pyongyang that it cannot manipulate the…
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia —
Malaysia said Sunday that its expulsion of North Korea’s ambassador was intended to warn Pyongyang that it cannot manipulate the investigation into the killing of the North Korean leader’s half brother.
The government on Saturday gave Ambassador Kang Chol 48 hours to leave the country after he refused to apologize for his strong accusations over Malaysia’s handling of the investigation into the Feb. 13 killing of Kim Jong Nam at Kuala Lumpur’s airport.
“I think we have given a clear message to the North Korean government that we are serious about solving this problem and we do not want (the investigation) to be manipulated,” Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was quoted as saying Sunday by Malaysian national news agency Bernama.
The death of Kim, the estranged half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, has unleashed a diplomatic battle between Malaysia and North Korea. Malaysian authorities said Kim died within 20 minutes after two women smeared his face with VX, a banned nerve agent considered a weapon of mass destruction.
North Korea has rejected Malaysia’s autopsy finding that VX killed Kim. Kang has accused the Malaysian government of trying to hide something and said it colluded with outside powers to defame North Korea.
