Two Malaysians leave North Korea, talks
on to lift travel ban
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[March 09, 2017]
By Rozanna Latiff
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - North Korea
guaranteed the safety of Malaysians banned from leaving the country,
Malaysia's prime minister said on Thursday, as two Malaysian U.N.
employees left the isolated state in a possible sign that diplomatic
tensions had begun to settle.
North Korea had barred Malaysians from leaving the country on Tuesday,
sparking tit-for-tat action by Malaysia as relations soured over its
investigation into the murder last month of Kim Jong Nam, the estranged
half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
After earlier this week accusing North Korea of assassinating Kim Jong
Nam with a banned chemical weapon and of treating Malaysians like
hostages, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has taken a softer line
to get his citizens out of the secretive, nuclear-armed state.
"Diplomatic relations between Malaysia and North Korea will not be
severed, as we need to continue communicating with them to find a
solution," Najib said in a statement on his blog.
But, he added that his government "will not relent from a firm approach"
in dealings with North Korea.
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The departure of two Malaysians working for the U.N.'s World Food
Programme (WFP) meant nine still remained at the embassy in Pyongyang.
They included three diplomats and six family members.
"The government of North Korea has given a guarantee of safety," Najib
said in a message on social network Twitter. "They are free to do their
daily activities, but they cannot leave the country."
Najib confirmed on Twitter that the two WFP staffers, Stella Lim and
Nyanaprakash Muniandy, had left North Korea and reached Beijing.
It was unclear why the pair, who according to a Malaysian government
official held U.N. passports, had been allowed to go.
Malaysian sources familiar with the matter said negotiations were
underway between the two countries to resolve their issues, including
the removal of the ban on Malaysians leaving North Korea, but were not
expected to end soon.
The United Nations has called for calm between Malaysia and North Korea
and urged them to settle their differences through "established
diplomatic practice."
Najib said any negotiations with Pyongyang would be conducted behind
closed doors.
"I can only disclose that the government is in the process of
establishing the reasons and motives behind the actions of North Korea,"
he said.
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![](../images/030917pics/news_m21.jpg)
The North Korea flag flutters next to concertina wire at the North
Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia March 9, 2017.
REUTERS/Edgar Su
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NEGOTIATIONS BEGIN
South Korean intelligence officers say Kim Jong Un had issued
standing orders for the elimination of his elder half-brother who
was known to have criticized his family's regime.
Malaysian police have identified eight North Koreans in connection
with the case. They say are three still in Kuala Lumpur, hiding at
the North Korean embassy.
Malaysia is one of the few countries that has for decades maintained
ties with the isolated state. But as relations plunged in the wake
of the murder, Malaysia recalled its envoy from Pyongyang and
expelled the North Korean ambassador.
A source with direct knowledge of the situation said that no other
country was involved in the talks now underway, not even its China,
which has friendly relations with both.
"Malaysia has not asked China to get involved," the source told
Reuters. "Malaysia wants to resolve this bilaterally relying on its
existing good relations with North Korea."
Najib said he had spoken by telephone to Mohd Nor Azrin Md Zain, the
counselor at the Malaysian embassy in Pyongyang.
"Thank God he, his family and the other Malaysians are safe," Najib
said on Twitter.
Reuters spoke to Nor Azrin earlier in the week.
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"We are still here. We have been given the assurance that nothing
has changed," he said.
(Additional reporting by Praveen Menon and A.Ananthalakshmi; Writing
by Kanupriya Kapoor; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
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