Malaysia Solves North Korean Crisis With Diplomatic Finesse

By Yasmin Ahmad Zukiman KUALA LUMPUR, April 1 (Bernama) -- The capability of Malaysia in resolving the Malaysia-North Korea crisis through negotiations proved once again the country strongly upholds the spirit of diplomacy. At the same time, it also showed the country would not bow to foreign powers as it held to the principle of justice and sovereignty, says Universiti Malaya International and Strategic Studies Department senior lecturer Dr Muhammad Danial Azman. "The negotiation conducted by the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Najib Razak should be complimented as it was not easy, more so when Pyongyang earlier made many allegations and demands," he told Bernama Friday. He said the government faced quite a challenge to break the impasse when the safety of nine Malaysians held in North Korea was the top priority. The tension between Kuala Lumpur and Pyongyang erupted when Kim Jong-nam, 46, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was murdered at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (klia2) here on Feb 13. The diplomatic friction sparked off when North Korean ambassador Kang Chol made unfounded claims against Malaysia on the ways to handle the case, which resulted in Malaysia declaring him persona non grata and expelled him on March 5. Following the expulsion on March 7, Pyongyang prevented Malaysian citizens from leaving the country and Kuala Lumpur took similar action on North Korean citizens in Malaysia. Thursday, Najib announced that the government had succeeded in negotiating for Malaysians to leave North Korea for home. All the Malaysians left Pyongyang at 7.45pm Malaysian time and arrived in Kuala Lumpur at 5.03am. Muhammad Danial said the firmness of Malaysia in the negotiation process was in line with United Nations charter that the rights and sovereignty of a country should be respected. He said it was the responsibility of the host nation to conduct procedures according to the law including post-mortem and based on the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations 1963, the foreign country should adhere and respect the laws of the host country. Asked on relations between Malaysia and North Korea, Muhammad Danial said it depended on the desires of the leaders of both countries. "Nonetheless, should relations between the two countries be terminated, it would not bring impact to Malaysia's position at international level as Malaysia has strong relations with other countries. "On the other hand, North Korea will be affected in many ways including trade and foreign exchange ties," he said. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Institute of Malaysian and International Studies deputy director and senior fellow, Dr Sufian Jusoh praised the negotiations conducted by the government without the involvement of the military or violence. According to him, Malaysia is recognised as a country capable of carrying out effective negotiations especially with countries facing conflicts. "As an example, we were the mediator for the peace process in southern Philippines which concluded with the signing of a comprehensive agreement on Bangsamoro between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. "So, in this issue (Kim Jong-nam) it was impossible that our government could not resolve it," he said. -- BERNAMA