The ministry’s decision to summon Kang was in response to the diplomat’s criticism last week over Malaysia’s refusal to release Jong Nam’s body and for having carried out the post mortem without the presence of a representative from the North Korean embassy..
Kang also alleged that Malaysia was “colluding and playing into the gallery of external forces” after Malaysia rejected the demand that the body be handed over to Pyongyang without delay.
Wisma Putra said today that Jong Nam’s death in Malaysia occurred under mysterious circumstances and it was therefore the responsibility of the Malaysian government to investigate the matter.
It added that Putrajaya had been transparent and that Wisma Putra had been kept informed of developments related to the matter.
“For these reasons, the Malaysian government views the criticism made by the ambassador of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea as baseless.
“The Malaysian government takes very seriously any unfounded attempt to tarnish its reputation,” Wisma Putra said in a statement.
The foreign ministry also said it had recalled the Malaysian ambassador in Pyongyang “for consultations”.
Jong Nam, who is the eldest son of former North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, arrived in Malaysia on Feb 6, and was at klia2 to catch a 10.30am flight to Macau when he was attacked by two women. One sprayed a rapid-acting poison at him while the other covered his face with a piece of cloth.
Jong Nam sought help at the customer service counter but died on the way to Putrajaya Hospital.
Police have since nabbed four suspects to facilitate investigations. They are a Vietnamese named Doan Thi Huong, Siti Aisyah (Indonesia), Muhammad Farid Jallaludin (Malaysia) and Ri Jong Chul (North Korea).
Four other male suspects, all North Korean, fled the country on the same day of the murder. They have been identified as Ri Ji Hyon, Hong Song Hac, O Jong Gil and Ri Jae Nam.