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When news broke out that a North Korean man was murdered at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2), the public was intrigued as to the motives behind the attack.
Even after it was confirmed by Malaysian authorities that the man was indeed Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, foreign relations analysts believed that the incident would have little, if any effect on the country’s diplomatic ties with North Korea.
Since then, however, the North Korean envoy to Malaysia and Wisma Putra have been trading barbs over the matter.
North Korean ambassador Kang Chol accused the Malaysian government of having something to conceal with regard to the murder. Wisma Putra however dismissed the allegation as “baseless”.
After he was summoned by Wisma Putra over his remarks, Kang claimed that Pyongyang had doubts over Malaysia’s investigations into Jong-nam’s murder.
Responding to Kang, Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said the former was making allegations based on “lies and half-truths” and also said that Putrajaya was insulted by insinuations that it was covering up Jong-nam’s murder.
Bilateral relations between the two have been damaged, to say the least, after these heated exchanges.
Agreeing with this, defence analyst Lam Choong Wah believes that the ball is in North Korea’s court.
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And the things North Korea say have to adhere to both international and Malaysian laws, said the senior fellow at Research for Social Advancement (Refsa).
“We are doing things according to our due process and law. We are doing the right thing.”
Senior fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore Oh Ei Sun is also of the same opinion.
“If they (North Korea) stop making those outlandish accusations things can calm down a bit,” he said.
Relations between Malaysia and North Korea would worsen if the latter continues to make “those outlandish accusations”, Oh added.
And should investigations were to point to North Korea’s involvement in the murder, this would definitely not be of help in efforts to repair bilateral relations between Malaysia and North Korea.
What Malaysia could do, at the moment, is to carry on with its investigations professionally, said Oh.
“Malaysia should also refute their baseless accusations whenever they are issued."
Not involved in N Korea nuclear issue
Meanwhile, commenting on Kang’s allegations, Lam believes that Malaysia was not involved in any kind of conspiracy.
The Malaysian government was merely doing what it was bound to by the law to find out those responsible behind the murder, he said.
“We are not involved in the North Korea nuclear issue - we are not even an interested party. I don’t see that Malaysia is part of an international conspiracy,” said Lam.
Malaysia, he added, did not have any motives in wanting to further damage relations between the two countries.
“We want to maintain friendly relations with North Korea, that’s for sure. We have to tell the whole world that we are not interested to get involved in any international conflict.
"North Korea, for its part, should assist the Malaysian government in investigating the incident."
Like Oh, Lam said Malaysia needs to stand firm with its position and to carry on with the investigations.
“We have to defuse tension by following the due process to carry out the investigation,” he said.
Jong-nam died on Feb 13 after being smothered with a cloth purportedly laced with an unidentified chemical by a woman at KLIA2.
Police have since arrested the woman, a Vietnam passport holder, as well as another woman who holds an Indonesian passport.
Police have also detained the second suspect’s boyfriend as well as arrested a North Korean citizen. Cops are looking for four more North Korean nationals who are believed to have fled the country.-Mkini
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