He said North Korea should not see the death of the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as merely its internal issue as it also involved international citizens and multi-national relations.

Kim Jong Nam was murdered at Malaysia’s low-cost carrier airport, klia2, on Feb 13.

It was reported that Jong Nam was at the airport to board a flight to Macau, scheduled to depart at 10.30am. At about 9am, as he was at the check-in kiosk, two women suddenly wiped his face with a liquid that was later identified as the VX nerve agent.

Jong Nam reportedly sought help at a customer service counter at the airport and was rushed to Putrajaya Hospital but died on the way.

He had used a North Korean passport bearing the name Kim Chol.

“North Korea needs to respect international diplomatic relations. To them, it (the case of Kim Jong Nam’s death) is not related to international issues but as their issue.

“I think North Korea must learn to respect other countries,” Zahid told reporters after attending a closed-door meeting with Sabah Umno leaders at the Sabah Umno Building, here.

Zahid, who is also home minister, said this in commenting on the expulsion of North Korea’s ambassador to Malaysia, Kang Chol, yesterday.

Zahid said North Korea’s ambassador to Malaysia was issued the expulsion order because he was trying to manipulate the issue (death of Kim Jong Nam).

“We did our job professionally in terms of interviewing witnesses, collecting evidence, which we found via DNA, forensics, high definition closed circuit television, and also elements of intelligence,” he said.

He said that all nations, as part of international society, must cooperate to solve the problem rather than worsen the situation by manipulating it.