Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia's deputy prime minister said yesterday that 315 North Koreans are in the country and barred from leaving amid a diplomatic dispute over the killing of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's estranged half brother.
The figure is lower than an estimate of 1,000 North Koreans previously given by a government official.
Malaysia says Kim Jong Nam died after two women smeared his face with the banned VX nerve agent at Kuala Lumpur's airport on February 13, but North Korea — which is widely suspected to be behind the attack — rejects the findings.
Relations have steadily deteriorated, with each country expelling the other's ambassador. On Tuesday, North Korea blocked all Malaysians from leaving the country until a "fair settlement" of the case was reached. Malaysia then barred North Koreans from exiting its soil. Both countries have also scrapped visa-free travel for each other's citizens.
Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told local media that 2,453 North Koreans came to Malaysia from 2014 to 2017, but that the latest record showed only 315 remained.
Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said on Saturday that the government hopes to begin formal talks with North Korea in the "next few days" on the release of the nine Malaysians who are in Pyongyang, comprising three embassy workers and their family members.
