North Korea blames Malaysia for death of its citizen - KCNA
SEOUL (Reuters) - 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 Feb. 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. 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 46-year-old older half-brother of Kim Jong Un. 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. So far, police have identified a total of eight North Koreans suspected of being linked to the killing. One is in custody. 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. (Reporting by Jack Kim and Christine Kim; Editing by Chris Reese and Grant McCool)
