Malaysia's Foreign Ministry on Monday summoned Ambassador of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kang Chol to seek an explanation over a statement he had made on the police investigation of a deceased DPRK man.
The deceased man was reportedly to be Kim Jong Nam, the elder half-brother of DPRK top leader Kim Jong Un.
In a strongly worded statement on Friday, Kang accused the Malaysian government of having "something to conceal" in its investigation, purposely delaying the release of the body and conducting the autopsy unilaterally.
The Malaysian government viewed the criticism as baseless, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement after the summon meeting, which was called upon by the ministry's Deputy Secretary General for Bilateral Affairs Nushirwan Zainal Abidin.
Kim's death occurred on Malaysian soil under mysterious circumstances and it is the responsibility of the Malaysian government to conduct an investigation to identify the cause of death, the statement said, adding the probe has been conducted in the manner prescribed by Malaysian law.
The Malaysian government has been transparent, said the statement, noting that it takes very seriously any unfounded attempt to tarnish its reputation.
The statement said the Malaysian ambassador in Pyongyang has also been recalled to Kuala Lumpur for consultations.
At a press conference on Sunday, Malaysia's deputy national police chief Noor Rashid Ibrahim said the police were following the Malaysian law and legal requirements.
"Every death in a suspicious manner must be investigated, in which we have to put a report, submit a report to the court. In this case we are investigating a sudden and suspicious death," he said.
