Malaysia on Thursday banned its citizens from travelling to North Korea because of the escalating tensions in the Korean Peninsula. The ban will be in place till the situation returns to normal, the Malaysian Foreign Ministry said.
Malaysia is one of the few countries that have friendly diplomatic ties with North Korea. However, relations have been strained since February, when Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, was allegedly poisoned to death at the Kuala Lumpur Airport. The assassination triggered tensions, and Malaysia expelled North Korea’s ambassador. North Korea responded by declaring the Malaysian ambassador a persona non grata.
The ban imposed on Thursday covers the Malaysian soccer team’s trip to Pyongyang for a match on October 5, Deputy Foreign Minister Rizal Merican Naina Merican told Reuters.
As a result, the match has been postponed for a third time, since its original scheduled date of March 28. The Asian Football Confederation said the situation would be “referred to the appropriate committees to decide on the future status of this match”.
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