Nine Malaysian citizens arrived home on Friday, March 31, after being detained in North Korea following a diplomatic row between Kuala Lumpur and Pyongyang over the death of Kim Jong-nam.
Pyongyang lifted a travel ban on the Malaysians after Kuala Lumpur agreed to return the body of Kim Jong-nam, the half brother of North Korea’s ruler Kim Jong-un, to North Korea. North Korean officials escorted Kim Jong-Nam’s remains on a Malaysia Airlines flight that departed for Beijing on Thursday evening, according to Japanese media.
The deal marks the end of a diplomatic stalemate between Malaysia and North Korea following Kim Jong-nam’s assassination at Kuala Lumpur Airport on February 13. The travel ban was imposed earlier this month after Malaysia sought to question three North Koreans, who are thought to be staying at the North Korean embassy, in connection with Jong-nam’s death and refused to release the body until a family member had approved the requested.