Malaysia–North Korea relations were once strong but deteriorated following the 2017 assassination of Kim Jong-nam in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysia was once one of the few countries with which North Korea enjoyed functional diplomatic and economic relationships. However, ties between the two countries have disintegrated. Malaysia had an embassy in Pyongyang, and North Korea had an embassy in Kuala Lumpur.
Relations between the two countries deteriorated in 2017, in the aftermath of the assassination of Kim Jong-nam in Kuala Lumpur International Airport, which made global headlines and sparked a major diplomatic row between the two countries. In retaliation for Malaysia's refusal to release Kim's body pending the results of an autopsy, staff at the Malaysian embassy were prevented from leaving North Korea, and were only allowed to return home after Malaysia relented to North Korea's request to hand over Kim's remains (after an autopsy had been performed) and two North Korean nationals who had been detained for questioning in Malaysia.
Amid the 2018–19 Korean peace process, Malaysia announced it would re-open its embassy in North Korea and resume relations. Because of ongoing bilateral complications, the Malaysian embassy remained vacant. North Korea severed ties with Malaysia on 19 March 2021 due to the latter's extradition of a North Korean national to the United States. The same day, the Malaysian government declared all North Korean diplomatic staff and their dependents personae non gratae and ordered them to leave the country within 48 hours. As at 2023 Malaysia is the only country in Southeast Asia that does not maintain diplomatic relations with North Korea.
History
Before
Relations between the two countries started on 30 June 1973. This was part of a broader campaign by North Korea to enhance its ties with the developing world.
The North Korean embassy was opened in Kuala Lumpur in 1974 and Malaysia sent its first ambassador to the DPRK in 2004. After Mahathir Mohamad became prime minister of Malaysia in 1981, relations developed quickly with exchanges of ministerial visits and aspirations to promote mutual economic development and peace on the peninsula.
Relations between both countries improved and in 2009, Malaysia became the first country whose citizens were able to travel to North Korea without a visa. In 2013, the supreme leader of North Korea Kim Jong-un received an honorary doctorate from HELP University, a Malaysian university.
Assassination of Kim Jong-nam in Malaysia
On 13 February 2017, Kim Jong-nam, Kim Jong-un's half-brother, was killed in Malaysia in a presumed assassination. This resulted in a rapid escalation of tensions.
The Malaysian authorities conducted an autopsy which resulted in opposition from North Korea. The North Korean government said that it will oppose any results of the findings, claiming that it was conducted on its citizen without their permission, and that they will take the issue to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). It also accused Malaysia of colluding with its enemies. The Malaysian side argued that any such incidents happening on a country's soil are subject to that country's laws, and stressed the need to find the cause of death and confirm the identity of the deceased. After North Korean ambassador Kang Chol's comments, he was summoned by the Malaysian Foreign affairs ministry on 20 February, while the Malaysian ambassador to North Korea had also been recalled.
Following the revelation that Kim's death was the result of the VX nerve agent, a nerve agent classified as a weapon of mass destruction by the United Nations Security Council Resolution 687 and outlawed by the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993, Malaysia threatened the expulsion of the North Korean ambassador to Malaysia, referring to his claims of collusion as "delusional". The North Korean government then dispatched a high-level delegation to Malaysia.
Beginning on 6 March, Malaysia cancelled the visa-free entry for North Koreans, citing "security issues" following the murder incident. On 4 March, the North Korean ambassador Kang Chol was declared a persona non grata and expelled for the next 48 hours, to which North Korea reacted in kind. North Korean authorities also reacted on 7 March by forbidding all Malaysian citizens in North Korea from entering or leaving the country. Malaysian authorities retaliated by forbidding North Korean citizens from entering or leaving Malaysia.