Nine Malaysian citizens barred from leaving North Korea after the murder of Kim Jong Nam have finally been allowed to return home, Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak announced in a statement Thursday.
The body of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s murdered half-brother will also now be allowed to return to North Korea, the statement said, once Malaysia has received a letter from his family requesting his repatriation.
Kim Jong Nam was killed with a highly toxic nerve agent on February 13 while waiting for a flight from Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur airport to the Chinese territory of Macau.
“I am pleased to announce that the nine Malaysians who had been barred from leaving North Korea have now been allowed to return to Malaysia … they took off from Pyongyang today at 7.45 p.m. Malaysian time, and will land in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow around 5 a.m.,” the statement said, adding that Malaysia will now allow North Koreans to leave Malaysia.
Four Malaysian diplomats and their family members have been stuck in North Korea since earlier this month, when both countries announced a freeze on departures amid a diplomatic row.
Relations soured after Malaysian investigators refused to return Kim’s body to North Korea, and instead conducted an autopsy that revealed Kim had been murdered.
Two women are facing murder charges for allegedly wiping Kim’s face with VX nerve agent, which caused his death within 20 minutes.
North Korea has denied any involvement in his death.
More to come.