Malaysian police besiege the entrance to the DPRK embassy (Photo: EPA/VNA)Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – Malaysia is willing to negotiate with the Democratic People'sRepublic of Korea (DPRK) to find a peaceful solution to tensions in diplomaticties, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said on March 8.
Deputy PM Zahidreiterated Prime Minister Najib Razak’s decision to maintain diplomaticrelations with the DPRK despite the escalating controversy between the twonations.
He said the MalaysianMinistry of Foreign Affairs will discuss with a DPRK mission who are now inKuala Lumpur to seek ways to deal with the issue.
The diplomatic tensionsbetween the two countries broke out three weeks after the death of a DPRKcitizen whose name was Kim Chol in his passport.
Malaysiaauthorities believed the man was poisoned, while the DPRK affirmed he died ofheart attack, diabetes and high blood pressure. The DPRK government andAmbassador to Malaysia Kang Chol have repeatedly accused Malaysia of issuinginimical investigation conclusions and confirmed that they did not accept KualaLumpur’s investigation results.
On March 6, AmbassadorKang Chol was deported from Kuala Lumpur. The same day, the DPRK Ministry ofForeign Affairs also announced its decision to expel Malaysian AmbassadorMohamad Nizan Mohamad.
A day later, KualaLumpur decided to prohibit all DPRK citizens, including the DPRK Embassy’sstaff, from leaving Malaysia after a similar ban imposed by Pyongyang earlier.-VNA
VNA
