Amanah deputy president Salahuddin Ayub said the issue is problematic and diminishes Malaysia’s reputation in the eyes of the world, as allowing North Korean arms transactions is in violation of a United Nations arms embargo.
In a statement today, he asked the government to clarify the involvement of North Korea through Global Communications Company (Glocom), which later changed its identity to International Gold Services (IGS).
“The international community in general knows North Korea to be one of the rogue states where diplomatic and trade relations should be handled with attention and care in line with international conventions and regulations.
“In other words, we ourselves opened the space for people to fix the trap that has today led to our citizens and officers in Pyongyang becoming pawns.”
He claimed one company selling military equipment made in North Korea is co-owned by a political strongman in this country.
Salahuddin referred to a report by Reuters on Feb 27 that North Korean intelligence allegedly ran an arms operation out of Malaysia.
The company was said to be selling battlefield radio equipment in violation of UN sanctions.
Glocom had an office address in a building in the Little India area of Kuala Lumpur, the report said.
Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar had responded the next day, saying the firms were being “struck off” and that the authorities were taking all necessary actions to comply with international regulations with regards to UN sanctions.
Nine Malaysians, made up of Malaysian embassy staff and their families, have been stranded in Pyongyang for several days now after North Korea barred all Malaysians there from leaving the country.
This transpired during a diplomatic row over the assassination of Kim Jong Nam, the elder half-brother of North Korean supreme ruler Kim Jong Un, at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 on Feb 13.
Malaysia has also ordered a similar ban on North Koreans leaving the country. Both countries have also expelled each other’s ambassadors, declaring them persona non grata.
North Korea had protested against the murder investigations into Jong Nam’s death and denied that the killing was planned by Pyongyang.
Police have identified eight North Korean nationals for questioning, one of whom has since been deported.
Two women, a Vietnamese and an Indonesian, have been charged with Jong Nam’s murder.