DPRK embassy in Malaysia to shut down in hours
The embassy compound of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on March 20, 2021.
The embassy of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is prepared to shut down as the deadline given by the Malaysian government approaches.
A reporter from the China Media Group (CMG) saw that the nameplate of the embassy and the DPRK national emblem were removed on Sunday morning. The area had been cordoned by the Malaysian authorities.
Malaysian foreign ministry on Friday said it would close its embassy in Pyongyang and order all diplomatic staff at the DPRK embassy in Kuala Lumpur to leave the country within 48 hours, in response to the DPRK's announcement of cutting diplomatic ties with the country.
Earlier Friday, the DPRK announced severing diplomatic relations with Malaysia after Malaysia's top court ruled in favor of extraditing a DPRK national to the US to face money laundering charges, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.
The report said that the DPRK businessman was engaged in "legitimate external trade activities" and warned that the Malaysian authority would "bear full responsibility for all the consequences to be incurred between the two countries."
Malaysian foreign ministry said it "deeply regrets" over the decision and stressed that the extradition of the DPRK citizen was conducted in accordance with the principles of justice, rule of law and independence of judiciary.
The DPRK citizen was detained by the Malaysian authority in May 2019 pursuant to the provisional arrest warrant issued following allegations of conspiracy to launder money as well as violating United Nations sanctions, the ministry said.
