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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – North Korea announced on Friday the termination of diplomatic relations with Malaysia over its decision to allow the extradition of a suspected North Korean criminal to the United States. It is the latest development in the growing animosity between Washington and Pyongyang as North Korea increases pressure on the Biden administration over a nuclear showdown.
The North Korean Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the money laundering charges imposed by the United States against a North Korean citizen living in Malaysia are an “absurd fabrication and (a) pure conspiracy” orchestrated by “the main enemy. of our state. “
The ministry said it was announcing “the complete breakdown of diplomatic relations with Malaysia, which committed a major hostile act against (North Korea) in subordination to US pressure.”
He warned that the United States “will pay the due price.”
It is unclear if or when North Korea will remove its diplomats from Malaysia. North Korea has a history of backing down from their threats. For example, he has said that he would cut off communication with rival South Korea countless times before arriving in Seoul later.
Ties between North Korea and Malaysia have been virtually frozen since the 2017 assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s half brother at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Observers believe that no Malaysian diplomats are currently in North Korea. The Malaysian Foreign Ministry website said that the North Korean Embassy is headed by Kim Yu Song, the charge d’affaires and counselor, and six other staff members.
Cutting diplomatic relations would be an important measure. Malaysia has long been regarded as one of North Korea’s crucial economic centers, managing trade, labor exports, and some illicit businesses in Southeast Asia. Experts say North Korea is taking a tough stance on the US-requested extradition that it sees as part of US efforts to pressure the North.
“North Korea is taking a hard line because it believes it should not back down (on extradition) as it will then have a war of nerves with the Biden government in the next four years,” said Nam Sung-wook, professor. . at the University of South Korea.
Nam said North Korea is also likely concerned that it may run into similar problems in other Southeast Asian countries if it does not respond vigorously to Malaysia’s extradition decision.
Threatening to cut ties with Malaysia was one of the strongest options North Korea could take to express anger at the Biden administration without jeopardizing an eventual return to stalled nuclear negotiations with Washington, said Hong Min, a senior analyst at the Seoul National Unification Institute of Korea said.
North Korea has insisted that it will not enter into meaningful talks with Washington unless it abandons what Pyongyang perceives as a “hostile” policy. But experts say North Korea, whose moribund economy is suffering the most from the pandemic, will eventually seek to return to diplomacy to find ways to gain relief from sanctions.
Earlier this month, Malaysia’s high court rejected a claim by North Korean Mun Chol Myong that the American prosecution was politically motivated and ruled that he could be extradited. Mun had lived in Malaysia for a decade and was arrested in May 2019 after US authorities requested his extradition.
In his affidavit, Mun denied US allegations that he was involved in supplying banned luxury goods from Singapore to North Korea in violation of UN sanctions while working in the city-state.
He denied having laundered funds through front companies and having issued fraudulent documents to support illicit shipments to his country. He said in his affidavit that the US extradition request was aimed at putting pressure on North Korea over its missile program.
After that ruling, Mun’s family hired a lawyer to challenge the legality of the extradition. Attorney Emile Ezra said the new legal offer focused on Mun’s right to a fair hearing after the court refused to accept his affidavit, and also a court order to stop his extradition.
The North Korean statement said Mun has already been sent to the United States. Ezra said the police did not respond to his inquiry and that they cannot confirm whether Mun was still in Malaysia. He said the prison informed him on Wednesday that Mun had been turned over to police custody.
Officials at the Ministry of the Interior in Malaysia could not immediately be reached for comment.
North Korea and Malaysia established diplomatic relations in 1973, but their relations suffered major setbacks from the assassination of Kim Jong Nam in 2017.
Two women, one Indonesian and one Vietnamese, were charged with colluding with four North Koreans to murder Kim Jong Nam by smearing a VX nerve agent on his face. The four North Koreans fled Malaysia the day Kim died.
Malaysian officials have never officially accused North Korea of being involved in Kim’s death, but prosecutors made it clear during the trial that they suspected a connection to North Korea. North Korea has denied any role. The two women, who said they thought they were participating in a harmless prank for a television show, were later released.
South Korea’s spy service said North Korea had tried for several years to kill Kim Jong Nam, although it once sent a letter to Kim Jong Un asking for his life and that of his family members after an attempt. of murder. North Korean observers have long believed that Kim Jong Un ordered his brother’s assassination as part of efforts to eliminate potential rivals and consolidate his grip on power.
Amid a diplomatic tit-for-tat, Malaysia eliminated visa-free entry for North Koreans and expelled the North Korean ambassador before North Korea barred all Malaysians from leaving the country.
Cutting diplomatic relations would require each country to formally close its embassies, withdraw diplomats, and liquidate local property. But if North Korea does not take any action, its diplomatic ties will remain. Malaysia will not ask why they are not following through ”on their threat, said analyst Lee Jaehyon of the Asan Institute for Political Studies in Seoul.
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Ng reported from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Associated Press reporter Kim Tong-hyung contributed to this report.
