馬來西亞和朝鮮外交緊張升級
Malaysia is barring all North Koreans, including diplomats and embassy staff, from leaving the country, while North Korea is banning all Malaysians from leaving its territory, as the two nations continue a diplomatic battle kicked off by last month's killing of the half-brother of North Korea's leader. The decisions Tuesday followed earlier moves to expel each other's ambassadors.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said North Korea is "effectively holding our citizens hostage" and that he hopes the decision is reversed immediately in order to prevent further escalation.
The North Korean move was announced by state television, saying its ban would be in place until the safety of its citizens in Malaysia is guaranteed.
Kim Jong Nam, the half-brother of Kim Jon Un, was attacked February 13 at an airport in Kuala Lumpur with what Malaysian investigators say was VX nerve agent. He died 20 minutes later.
Malaysian authorities have charged a Vietnamese woman and an Indonesian woman with murder, saying they were the ones who rubbed the substance on Kim's face. Police are still seeking several other suspects they believe are connected to the killing, including several North Koreans. One North Korean suspect was detained for several weeks before being deported.
North Korea has not confirmed the dead man is Kim Jong Nam, and has rejected the Malaysian investigation in the case and any suggestions that it was behind the killing.
Kim Jong Nam was the older estranged brother of Kim Jong Un. Kim Jong Nam was once considered the heir apparent to lead North Korea, but he fell out of favor with their father, the late dictator Kim Jong Il, after a failed 2001 attempt to enter Japan on a forged passport to visit Disneyland. Since then, Kim Jong Nam had lived in virtual exile, primarily in the Chinese territory of Macau.馬來西亞禁止所有朝鮮人，包括外交官和大使館工作人員離開馬來西亞，而朝鮮同樣禁止所有馬來西亞人離開其領土。兩國繼續上個月因朝鮮領導人金正恩同父異母的兄弟金正男遇害而引起的外交戰役。星期二的決定之前，兩國都驅逐了對方的大使。
馬來西亞總理納吉布拉扎克說，朝鮮“實際上將我國公民作爲人質”，他希望立即改變這一決定，以防止事態進一步升級。
朝鮮的行動是由國家電視臺宣佈的，稱其禁令將持續到在馬來西亞的朝鮮公民的安全得到保證爲止。
金正恩同父異母的兄弟金正男2月13日在吉隆坡一個機場遭到攻擊，馬來西亞調查人員說他被染上VX神經毒劑。他20分鐘後死亡。
馬來西亞當局指控一名越南女子和一名印度尼西亞女子犯有謀殺罪，指稱她們在金正男臉上揉搓這種毒物。警方仍在尋找他們認爲與此謀殺案有關的其他幾名嫌疑人，其中包括幾名朝鮮人。一名朝鮮嫌疑人被拘留了幾個星期後被驅逐出境。
朝鮮沒有確認死者是金正男，並拒絕馬來西亞對案件的調查以及有關朝鮮是幕後指使的任何說法。
金正男比金正恩年長，兩人已互不往來。金正男曾被認爲是朝鮮領導人的繼承人，但他在2001年企圖以僞造護照進入日本前往迪斯尼樂園後，即在他們的父親、已故的獨裁者金正日面前失寵。從那時起，金正男就一直基本處於流亡中，主要生活在中國的澳門。
