Malaysia on Saturday declared the ambassador of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to the country as “Persona Non Grata” and asked him to leave Malaysia within 48 hours, amid a row over the investigation into kiling of Kim Jong Nam.

The decision was made after the ambassador, Kang Chol, failed to show up at a meeting after he was summoned by Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the same day, said the Foreign Minister Anifah Aman in a statement, adding no other senior official came to the meeting either.

Anifah said the ministry had sent a diplomatic note to the DPRK embassy on Saturday evening to inform the DPRK government that Kang should leave Malaysia within 48 hours from the scheduled time of the meeting, which should have taken place at 6 p.m., March 4, according to the statement.

The expulsion of the ambassador came after Kang and the DPRK government accused the Malaysian side several times of “colluding with hostile forces” in its investigation into the death Kim Jong Nam on Feb. 13 in Kuala Lumpur, and refused to trust the investigation.

(Xinhua/NAN)