Tit-for-tat move: North Korea temporarily bans exit of Malaysians

Kuala Lumpur: In a tit-for-tat move, Malaysia Deputy Prime Minister Dato' Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi on Tuesday announced that North Koreans were barred from leaving the country.

Malaysia's diktat comes after Pyongyang banned all Malaysian citizens from leaving North Korea, potentially holding them hostage amid an increasingly heated diplomatic row over the killing of Kim Jong-Nam in Kuala Lumpur.

Ahmad Zahid also confirmed that the travel ban only applies to the diplomatic staff, and that that regular North Korean citizens in Malaysia will be allowed to leave the country.

Earlier, North Korea`s Foreign Ministry notified the Malaysian embassy in Pyongyang that it will not allow any Malaysians to leave North Korea if it cannot guarantee the safety of its citizens and diplomatic personnel in the Southeast Asian country, Efe news quoted the KCNA news report as saying.

Pyongyang and Kuala Lumpur had unusually strong links for years, but have been set at loggerheads by the killing of the half-brother of leader Kim Jong-Un by two women using VX nerve agent.

Seoul has blamed Pyongyang for the assassination, and Kuala Lumpur has sought several North Koreans for questioning, although the only one it arrested was released for lack of evidence.