SEPANG: A North Korean embassy official today claimed that the mission has no knowledge of the reason behind one of its citizens being placed in police custody.
Counsellor Kim Yu-song spoke to reporters after going to the Sepang Police headquarters in a vain attempt to meet the North Korean national, Ri Yong Chol.
Yu-song, who was seen entering the police compound at 4.15pm and leaving 15 minutes later, said he was there to meet the police officer in-charge to find out why the North Korean national is being detained.
"Our embassy bears the responsibility to protect the interests and rights of our citizens ... until now we don't have the reason for his custody.
"So, we are here again to ask the police why they are detaining our citizen for seven days without any reason... but (the police) are out attending a meeting in Shah Alam, Selangor," he said to reporters before leaving.
When asked if the embassy had made any request to meet the police or officer-in-charge of that case, the counsellor said: "No".
"But, we hope Malaysian police, in accordance with the bilateral relations between the two countries, will cooperate with the embassy," he said.
Yong-chol has been detained, together with three others, in connection with the murder of North Korean Kim Jong-nam.
Jong-nam, estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was at the KL International Airport 2 (klia2) at 8am on Feb 13 to board a flight to Macau when two women suddenly appeared before him and wiped his face with the palms of their hands, which were covered with the VX nerve agent.
Jong-nam, who travelled with a passport bearing the name of ‘Kim Chol’, sought help at a customer service counter at the airport and was rushed to the Putrajaya Hospital, but died on the way. -- BERNAMA