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DPRK refutes allegations of connections with "events in Malaysia"

Xinhua, March 1, 2017 Adjust font size:

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) rejected here Tuesday allegations by the Republic of Korea (ROK) that it was connected with "the events in Malaysia."

During the High Level Segment of the Disarmament Conference in Geneva, a DPRK representative said the DPRK totally rejected the remarks of Seoul's Foreign Minister Yun Byung-Se, which suggested Pyongyang used chemical weapons to assassinate in Malaysia the half-brother of its top leader.

The DPRK diplomat denounced the remarks as "part of a sinister defamation campaign."

"We categorically reject the assumptions and speculations on the incident in Malaysia," he added.

Yun said earlier during the meeting that the assassination of "the brother" of the current DPRK leader in Malaysia with the internationally banned VX nerve agent was a major cause of concern.

"VX is a chemical weapon classified as a weapon of mass destruction by the United Nations and strictly banned by international norms and resolutions," said the ROK top diplomat, adding that the "recent assassination" showed that its northern neighbor was ready and willing to strike anyone, anytime and anywhere.

Once the Malaysian government releases its final investigation results, the case should be taken up as a high priority by the UN Security Council and the Chemical Weapons Convention and the country's membership at the United Nations could be suspended, Yun said.

In response, the DPRK representative said that the ROK minister ought to be careful about when and where to raise the issue of membership of countries in various United Nations bodies.

"They should bear in mind that their ridiculous efforts of blaming other member states would end up in failure," the DPRK diplomat added.

Malaysian police claim that chemical weapon substance had been identified on the body of a DPRK man who died on his way from a Malaysian airport to hospital on Feb. 13.

Malaysian officials said embassy documents showed the man was Kim Jong Nam, half-brother of the DPRK top leader Kim Jong Un. The DPRK ambassador in Malaysia rejected such allegations. Endi