North Korea orders expulsion of Malaysian ambassador: KCNA

North Korean Ambassador to Malaysia Kang Chol, second left, leaves the embassy in Kuala Lumpur in this photo taken by Kyodo on Monday. (Reuters)

SEOUL: North Korea said Monday it would expel Malaysia’s ambassador after its own envoy was ordered out of the Southeast Asian nation, in an increasingly bitter row over the assassination of Kim Jong-Nam at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
“The Foreign Ministry of the DPRK (North Korea) notifies that the Malaysian ambassador to the DPRK is labeled as a persona non grata... and demanded that the ambassador leave the DPRK,” state news agency KCNA said, giving a 48-hour deadline.
The KCNA report came shortly after the North’s ambassador Kang Chol flew home from Kuala Lumpur.
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 with VX nerve agent last month.
North Korea has not acknowledged the dead man’s identity but has repeatedly attacked the murder investigation and demanded a second autopsy, accusing Malaysia of conniving with its enemies.
Airport CCTV footage shows two women approaching the 45-year-old victim and apparently smearing his face with a cloth. Police say he suffered a seizure and died less than 20 minutes later. Swabs of his face revealed traces of the VX nerve agent.
Two women — one Vietnamese and one Indonesian — are in custody and have been charged with the murder while police are seeking seven North Korean suspects, four of whom left Malaysia on Feb. 13, the day of the assassination.
Police last week released the only North Korean they had arrested, citing a lack of evidence.

Malaysia wants change in venue for North Korea qualifier
Malaysia have asked that an Asian Cup qualifier against North Korea be moved to a neutral venue, as relations between the two countries worsen after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s estranged half-brother was killed in Malaysia.
Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) General Secretary Hamidin Mohd Amin confirmed a request had been made to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) not to travel to Pyongyang for this month’s fixture, after talks with Malaysian authorities.
“The government have asked us not to go to Pyongyang,” Hamidin told Reuters on Monday. “We asked the AFC today if we could play in a neutral venue. We expect a decision by the end of this week.”