Malaysia cites N. Korean envoy's 'dismissal of summons' as reason to expulsion
The Malaysian foreign ministry has cited North Korean Ambassador Kang Chol's refusal to accept formal summons as the reason for its decision to expel him, official sources said Sunday.
On Saturday, Malaysia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced its decision to kick out North Korea's ambassador, ordering him to leave the country by Monday 6 p.m.
The decision was the latest in a series of punitive actions Malaysia has taken in response to North Korea's assassination of leader Kim Jong-un's estranged half brother Kim Jong-nam at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Feb. 13.
Kang was told to show up for a meeting with a Malaysian foreign ministry official on Saturday evening, but neither he nor the North Korean Embassy responded, the Malaysian foreign ministry said in its statement. It said this failure to respond to the summons as the reason for Kang's expulsion.
The ministry also referred to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations as backing up its decision to declare Kang persona non grata and force him out of the country.
The ministry stressed the latest decision marks the strongest expression of complaint any country could voice to a foreign ambassador, calling on Kang to revisit his previous criticisms heaped on Malaysia.
After the Malaysian police concluded that eight North Koreans are suspects in the case, North Korea vehemently denied its involvement in the murder and accused South Korea and Malaysia of cooking up the story against Pyongyang. Kang has been at the forefront of North Korea's claims.
Meanwhile, Malaysian reports said Sunday that Malaysian police chief Khalid Abu Bakar dismissed as "nonsense" one of the North Korean suspects' claim that he was treated unfairly during a police investigation in Malaysia.
Ri Jong-chol, one of the suspects, was interrogated in custody for his alleged involvement in the assassination, but was released and deported from Malaysia on Friday after the Malaysian police failed to prove his role.
En route to North Korea, Ri argued that the Malaysian police investigation was unfair and that they had threatened to kill his wife and children.
Ri was treated by the police in the same manner as other suspects, the Malaysia police chief was quoted as saying. The police strictly stuck to the standard investigation procedures in dealing with the North Koren suspect, he said. (Yonhap)