North Korea orders expulsion of Malaysian ambassador in diplomatic retaliation linked to Kim Jong-nam's death

By Park Si-soo

North Korea said on Monday it has designated the Malaysian ambassador to the country as a "persona non grata," demanding the envoy leave the country within 48 hours from 10 a.m. on Sunday, its official KCNA news agency

said.

The report came as the North Korean ambassador to Malaysia, Kang Chol, was expelled from the Southeast Asian country in a diplomatic row over a probe into the killing of North Korean leader's half-brother, Kim Jong-nam. The North Korean ambassador left Malaysia Monday afternoon and returned home via Beijing.

According to AFP and other media outlets, Malaysia's ambassador to Pyongyang had already been recalled for consultations as the two countries traded barbs over an investigation into the killing of the North Korean leader's half-brother Kim Jong-nam with VX nerve agent last month.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian government has barred the country’s national football team from traveling to North Korea for an Asian Cup qualifying match on March 28 because of security concerns.

Football Association of Malaysia secretary-general Hamidin Mohamad Amin issued a statement Monday saying that Malaysia's expulsion of North Korean Ambassador Kang Chol has ``made the current situation unsafe for Malaysians to travel to North Korea for the moment.''

Hamidin said the FAM has written to the Asian Football Confederation to ask for the venue to be shifted from Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, to a neutral arena.