(Seoul) Pyongyang on Friday announced the severing of diplomatic relations with Malaysia, after the country’s extradition of a North Korean to the United States, according to a statement from the North Korean Foreign Ministry released by the official KCNA agency, received in Seoul.
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On March 17, Malaysian authorities “committed an unforgivable crime […] by forcibly delivering an innocent citizen (of North Korea) to the United States, ”according to KCNA.
As a result, the North Korean ministry “hereby announces the complete severance of its diplomatic relations with Malaysia” because of this “hostile act” committed against Pyongyang “with servility in the face of American pressure”.
Mun Chol Myong, the North Korean national subject to extradition, was engaged in “legitimate foreign trade activities in Singapore”, according to the agency. “To claim that he is involved in illegal money laundering” is an “invention”.
On March 3, this North Korean had seen his last appeal rejected by Malaysia’s highest court against extradition to the United States, where he will face charges of money laundering.
Mr. Mun, who had lived in the Southeast Asian country for a decade with his family, was arrested in 2019 following an extradition request from Washington.
In court, he rejected the FBI’s accusations that he led a criminal group responsible for exports to North Korea, in violation of international sanctions, which also allegedly laundered funds through shell companies.
He is accused of four counts of money laundering and two counts of conspiracy to launder money in the course of his work in Singapore, according to his lawyers.
The authorities did not say what goods he was able to illegally export to North Korea. Other cases in the past have revealed exports of alcohol, watches and other luxury goods.
The United Nations, the United States and other countries have imposed sanctions prohibiting the export of certain products to North Korea, in response to its continued nuclear and ballistic programs.
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/data/photo/2021/03/18/6053121c72bde.jpg "The story of Lizar, the figure of the village head behind the discovery of a man suspected of being a police officer who disappeared in the Aceh tsunami 17 years ago.")
