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SEOUL: North Korea said it would sever diplomatic ties with Malaysia after a court ruled that a North Korean man could be extradited to the United States to face money laundering charges, in a statement from the Foreign Ministry published on the state cable. of KCNA news on Friday (Mar 19).
On March 17, the Malaysian authorities “committed an unforgivable crime … of forcibly delivering the innocent citizen (of North Korea) to the United States,” the statement read.
North Korea’s Foreign Ministry “hereby announces the complete severance of diplomatic relations with Malaysia,” the statement added, criticizing what it called a “hostile act” committed against Pyongyang “in obedience to pressure from the United States. “.
North Korea also warned that Washington would “pay a price,” KCNA reported.
The statement described the unidentified individual as someone involved in “legitimate foreign trade activities in Singapore”, insisting that it was an “invention … to argue that he was involved in ‘illegal money laundering'”.
READ: North Korea in Malaysia loses final appeal against US extradition.
On March 3, a North Korean man named Mun Chol Myong lost his final appeal in Malaysia’s high court against extradition to the United States to face money laundering charges.
Mun, who had lived in the Southeast Asian country for a decade with his family, was arrested in 2019 following an extradition request from Washington.
In court, he denied the FBI’s claims that he led a criminal group that violated sanctions by supplying prohibited items to North Korea and laundering funds through front companies.
He faces four counts of money laundering and two counts of conspiracy to launder money. The allegations mainly concern his work in Singapore, according to his lawyers.
It’s unclear what Mun is accused of, but there have been cases of companies in Singapore shipping luxury items, such as spirits and watches, to North Korea.
The export to North Korea of some luxury items has been banned as part of sweeping sanctions imposed on Pyongyang by the United Nations and other countries, including the United States, for its weapons programs.
