North Korea decided to cut diplomatic ties with Malaysia on Friday (19) over the country’s extradition of a North Korean citizen to the United States. Malaysia’s foreign ministry later condemned Pyongyang’s move as “unfriendly and unconstructive” and demanded that North Korean embassy staff and dependents leave the country within 48 hours.
The press release stated that Malaysia has ensured that the extradition of North Korean citizen Mun Chol Myong is in accordance with the rule of law and the spirit of judicial independence. At the same Time, the Malaysian government must also set aside a series of “diplomatic notes” (demarches) from the DPRK asking the Malaysian administration to intervene in the judicial system.
The Malaysian foreign ministry said Malaysia has always regarded North Korea as a close partner since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1973, and has continued efforts to strengthen relations with North Korea even after the assassination of Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, at Kuala Lumpur’s International Airport No. 2 in February 2017 before he was about to board a flight.
In a statement published by official media KCNA on Friday, North Korea wrote that Malaysia committed the unforgivable crime of forcibly sending innocent North Korean citizen Moon Chol Minh to the United States on the 17th. Therefore, the North Korean Foreign Ministry hereby announces the complete severance of diplomatic relations with Malaysia, and the statement also slams Malaysia for succumbing to U.S. pressure and committing hostile acts against North Korea.
The statement described the unnamed individual as engaging in legitimate foreign trade activities in Singapore, insisting that his involvement in illegal money laundering was a fabrication.
Moon, who lived with his Family in Malaysia for 10 years, purchased Luxury goods for shipment back to North Korea from 2013 to 2018 through a trading company he worked for in Singapore and forged documents, in violation of a U.N. sanctions order.
Following an extradition request from the United States, Moon was arrested in 2019 and charged with four counts of money laundering and two counts of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Moon has been in custody since his arrest and lost his final appeal on March 9.
Moon’s lawyer said Moon’s job was only to follow up on the sale of palm oil and cooking oil to North Korea via China, adding that the company’s other Singaporean executives had not been charged, and therefore argued that Moon’s extradition was politically motivated.
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