Malaysians held in North Korea return home, Kim Jong Nam's body in North Korea

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http://www.dw.com/en/malaysians-held-in-north-korea-return-home-kim-jong-nams-body-in-north-korea/a-38223107

Malaysians held in North Korea return home, Kim Jong Nam's body in North Korea

North Korea and Malaysia resolved their diplomatic disagreement after Malaysia sent Kim Jong Nam's body to North Korea. The half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was assassinated at Kuala Lumpur airport.

31.03.2017

The body of the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was sent back to North Korea following an autopsy. In exchange, North Korea released nine Malaysians who were being held in Pyongyang and returned them to their homeland. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak tweeted, "Thank God all nine Malaysians from Pyongyang have arrived safely in our home land."

The Malaysians who had been held in Pyongyang, three embassy staff members and six family members, were banned from leaving North Korea during the diplomatic spat. They were met at the Kuala Lumpur airport by Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman early on Thursday. Mohamad Nor Azrin, the counselor of the Malaysian Embassy in North Korea, said all of the Malaysians who were stuck North Korea were allowed to move around and were not threatened while in Pyongyang. "We were very concerned because we had done no wrong. But we had to keep our spirits up," he said.

Anifah said Friday that the body of Kim Jong Nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, was on a plane destined for North Korea after being kept in a hospital morgue in Kuala Lumpur for six weeks following his death. Kim Jong Nam was poisoned by the nerve agent VX, a banned chemical weapon, in the Kuala Lumpur airport on February 13. Two women suspected to be involved in the death have been charged in the case.
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The body of Kim Jong Nam was requested by a family member, but Najib did not specify exactly who. Kim's wife and children were living in exile in Macau before the murder. They are now believed to be in hiding.

[nitpicker]

1. North Korean murder suspects go home with victim's body as Malaysia forced to swap

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-malaysia-kim-idUSKBN1711NI

Fri Mar 31, 2017 | 5:05am EDT

North Korean murder suspects go home with victim's body as Malaysia forced to swap

By Praveen Menon and James Pearson | KUALA LUMPUR

Three North Koreans wanted for questioning over the murder of the estranged half-brother of their country's leader returned home on Friday along with the body of victim Kim Jong Nam after Malaysia agreed to a swap deal with the reclusive state.

China's Foreign ministry confirmed the remains of a North Korean citizen were returned to North Korea along with "relevant" North Korean citizens, in a case that U.S. and South Korean officials regarded as state-sponsored assassination. Addressing a daily news briefing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang gave no other details on the swap that saw the North Koreans return home from Kuala Lumpur via Beijing.
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Malaysian police had named eight North Koreans they wanted to question in the case, including the three who were given safe passage to leave Malaysia on Thursday evening.

Television footage obtained by Reuters from Japanese media showed Hyon Kwang Song, the second secretary at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur, and Kim Uk Il, a North Korean state airline employee on the flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Though there was no official confirmation of their departure, the men were identifiable from handouts released by the Malaysian police during their investigation.

Malaysian media reported that a third North Korean, Ri Ji U, also known as James, who had been hiding with them at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur was also allowed to go home.
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