N Korea to cut ties with Malaysia over US extradition ruling

North Korea said it would cut diplomatic relations with Malaysia after a court in the Southeast Asian nation ruled that a North Korean man could be extradited to the United States to face money-laundering charges, state media reported on Friday.

North Korea’s foreign affairs ministry also warned Washington would “pay a price”, in a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

The North Korean statement did not name its citizen, but in early March, Malaysia’s top court ruled that a North Korean man, Mun Chol Myong, could be extradited.

Mun had lived in Malaysia for a decade and was arrested in May 2019 after US authorities requested his extradition. Malaysia’s government approved the request, but Mun challenged the bid.

In his affidavit, Mun denied accusations by the US that he was involved in supplying prohibited luxury goods from Singapore to North Korea in violation of UN sanctions while working in the city-state before moving to Malaysia in 2008.

He denied that he had laundered funds through front companies and that he issued fraudulent documents to support illicit shipments to his country. He said in his affidavit that he was the victim of a “politically motivated” extradition request aimed at pressuring North Korea over its missile program.

The North Korean foreign ministry called the extradition a “nefarious act and unpardonably heavy crime” by Malaysian authorities, who had “offered our citizen as a sacrifice of the US hostile move in defiance of the acknowledged international laws.”

Malaysia’s actions had destroyed “the entire foundation of the bilateral relations based on the respect for sovereignty,” it said.

Malaysia’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday that it “deeply regrets” North Korea’s decision to sever tiers.

“Malaysia denounces the decision as unfriendly and unconstructive, disrespecting the spirit of mutual respect and good neighbourly relations among members of the international community,” the ministry said…..read more

 

Source: Al Jazeera

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