Malaysia will deport some 50 nationals from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) working here with overstayed visas, Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said on Tuesday.
The 50 overstayed DPRK workers, part of the 140 DPRK nationals working in the eastern Malaysian state of Sarawak, came to light after DPRK and Malaysia barred each other's citizens from leaving over the investigation into a dead DPRK man, whom Malaysian police identified as Kim Jong Nam, the elder half brother of DPRK top leader Kim Jong Un. It is reported that the DPRK workers are mainly in businesses including coal mining and construction.
Malaysia will send the DPRK workers with overstayed visas back to Pyongyang, Zahid told reporters at the parliament. He did not elaborate on when and how will the workers be deported.
Those with valid visas can stay, he said, adding that currently there are a total of 315 DPRK nationals in Malaysia.
Zahid said formal talks are ongoing to bring back the nine Malaysians stranded in DPRK. Besides, there are also 191 DPRK nationals under the Malaysia My Second Home program, which allows foreigners to enter and leave Malaysia on a long term stay in Malaysia for up to 10 years.
