[Yonhap Photo]
North Korea shifted the blame for the death of supreme leader Kim Jong-un's half-brother in Malaysia on to South Korea, contending it was a premediated plot to hurt its image.
Pyongyang's argument was contained in a statement issued by a committee of lawyers as a diplomatic dispute between North Korea and Malaysia escalated over the killing of Kim Jong-nam who was attacked on February 13 as he waited for a flight to Macau.
Malaysian investigators said five North Koreans were involved in Kim's assassination included a diplomat from the North's embassy and a North Koran airline employee. Three more was wanted for questioning while two South East Asian helpers have been arrested.
It was a "truly unfortunate accident", the committee said in its statement published through Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), mentioning the deceased as a North Korean citizen carrying a diplomatic passport.
"This is an outright conspiracy" by the government of South Korea's suspended President Park Geun-hye to divert international attention from a corruption scandal.
Citing the Vienna Convention, the committee slammed Malaysia for violating North Korea's sovereignty and human rights by pushing ahead with an autopsy opposed by its embassy in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysia's "unfair" investigation has done in accordance with a conspiratorial racket launched by Seoul, it said.
Park Sae-jin = swatchsjp@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
