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KUALA LUMPUR / AP
Malaysia’s deputy prime minister said on Sunday that 315 North Koreans are in the country and barred from leaving amid a diplomatic dispute over the killing of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s estranged half brother.
The figure is lower than an estimate previously given by a government official, who had told The Associated Press that some 1,000 North Koreans were believed to be in Malaysia.
Malaysia says Kim Jong Nam died after two women smeared his face with the banned VX nerve agent at Kuala Lumpur’s airport on Feb. 13, but North Korea — which is widely suspected to be behind the attack — rejects the findings.
Relations have steadily deteriorated, with each country expelling the other’s ambassador. On Tuesday, North Korea blocked all Malaysians from leaving the country until a “fair settlement†of the case was reached.