Kim Jong-nam murder: North Korea blames Malaysia for death of its citizen
North Korea on Thursday blamed Malaysia for the death of one of its citizens there last week and accused the government of an "unfriendly attitude" in a scenario drawn up by South Korea, which has said Pyongyang agents assassinated the half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Malaysia had initially told North Korea that the person bearing a diplomatic passport had died of a heart attack at Kuala Lumpur airport on February 13, Pyongyang's state-run KCNA news agency said.
KCNA said Malaysia quickly changed its position and started to complicate the matter after reports surfaced in South Korea that the man was poisoned to death, citing a spokesman for a state committee.
"What merits more serous attention is the fact that the unjust acts of the Malaysian side are timed to coincide with the anti-DPRK conspiratorial racket launched by the South Korean authorities," KCNA said.
DPRK is short for the North's formal name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
"The biggest responsibility for his death rests with the government of Malaysia as the citizen of the DPRK died in its land," the report said.
The North has not acknowledged that the dead man is Kim Jong-nam. Thursday's statement described the man only as a North Korean citizen bearing a diplomatic passport.
Malaysian police on Wednesday named a North Korean diplomat along with a state airline official who are wanted for questioning over the murder of Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of late North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il.
Malaysia's police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said both officials were in Malaysia but could not confirm if they were in the North Korean embassy.
Malaysia has also requested Interpol to put an alert out to apprehend four North Korean suspects believed to have fled the country on the day of the murder.
Mr Khalid told reporters that a request had been made to Interpol to put out an alert to apprehend the four suspects, who they believe have already made their way back to North Korea.
The police chief also said the police have sent an official request to the North Korean embassy requesting to interview the embassy's second secretary and the airline official, having released their names on Wednesday.
"If you have nothing to hide, you should not be afraid to cooperate, you should cooperate," Mr Khalid told reporters.
Khalid said an arrest warrant will not be issued for the second secretary, as he has diplomatic immunity, but that "the process of the law will take place" if the airline official does not come forward.
Police have still to receive DNA samples from Kim Jong-nam's next of kin, Mr Khalid said. He also denied that Malaysian police officers had been sent to Macau, the Chinese territory where Kim Jong-nam and his family had been living under Beijing's protection.
Malaysia has denied North Korea's request for the body to be handed over to its embassy directly, saying it would be released to the next of kin, though none has come forward.
The KCNA dispatch accused Malaysia of breaking international law by conducting autopsies on a person bearing a diplomatic passport.
Kim Jong-un | A history of executions - family, allies and rivals
