Reopening Pyongyang mission a waste of funds, says ex-ambassador

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's announcement that Malaysia will reopen its mission in North Korea is premature and a waste of public funds, says former ambassador Dennis Ignatius.

In a statement to Malaysiakini, Ignatius said the move would also send the wrong signal to the regime and reward it for outrageous behaviour.

"It must not be forgotten that North Korea carried out an assassination on Malaysian soil using a deadly nerve agent.

“It subsequently held members of our diplomatic mission in Pyongyang hostage until the North Korean personnel implicated in the attack were allowed to leave Kuala Lumpur.

"Pyongyang's behaviour was outrageous, disrespectful and went against all the norms of diplomatic behaviour and inter-state relations," he said.

Earlier today, Mahathir was quoted telling the Nikkei Asian Reviewthat Malaysia will reopen its embassy in Pyongyang, suggesting an end to the diplomatic row over the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's half-brother in Kuala Lumpur last year.

'No need for embassy at all'

According to Ignatius, there was little need to even open the embassy in the first place. 

"Malaysia has no discernible political or economic interests in North Korea. It was one of those embassies which should have never been opened in the first place.

“At a time when the nation is trying to rebuild its economy, funding an embassy in Pyongyang is simply a waste of public funds," he said.

Malaysia's embassy in Pyongyang has not been staffed since April last year, after its once-close ties with North Korea were severely downgraded after Kim Jong Nam – the half-brother of North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un – was fatally poisoned by two women at the KLIA2 airport in February last year.

His face was smeared with VX nerve agent, which the United Nations lists as a weapon of mass destruction. The women had maintained that they were tricked into believing they were part of a reality show, and did not know they were handling poison.

The days after the murder saw North Korea questioning the credibility of the Malaysian police's probe and maintained the deceased was just an ordinary citizen who had died of a heart attack.

Malaysia then recalled its ambassador to North Korea, banned its citizens from travelling to the North and cancelled visa-free entry for North Koreans.

The rogue state retaliated by imposing a travel ban on all Malaysians in Pyongyang, trapping three diplomats and six family members.

They were able to fly out only after Malaysia agreed to hand over Jong Nam's corpse and send three North Koreans wanted for questioning back to North Korea. -Mkini