Reuters on Monday cited a North Korean defector as saying that Han Hun Il, the North Korean founding chief executive of Malaysia Korea Partners (MKP), had funneled money to Pyongyang's leadership, the central committee of the ruling Workers' Party, for the past two decades. "We have to investigate if, among other things, North Korea was using the friendship with Malaysia as a conduit for illicit activities," he said. The central bank did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comments. In February, Reuters reported that North Korea’s spy agency was running an arms export operation out of Malaysia. Close ties between Malaysia and North Korea have come under scrutiny following the assassination of Kim Jong Nam, the elder half-brother of North Korea’s ruler, with the highly toxic VX nerve agent on Feb 13 in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur.

Source: New Strait Times April 11, 2017 04:52 UTC