Bernama reported that a chartered bus carrying several people seen leaving the embassy had arrived at KLIA at 11.45am.

All diplomatic staff and their dependents at the embassy had been ordered to leave the country within 48 hours from Friday. Previous reports had put the number of staff and dependents at about 20.

The decision by Pyongyang to sever diplomatic relations with Malaysia follows the High Court’s decision to allow the extradition of a North Korea man to the US to face money laundering charges.

The North Korean government did not name its citizen, but earlier this month, the Federal Court ruled that Mun Chol-myong could be extradited.

Mun had lived in Malaysia for a decade and was arrested in May 2019 after US authorities requested his extradition. The Malaysian government approved the request, but Mun challenged the move in court.

Wisma Putra has said it regretted North Korea’s decision but would be closing the Malaysian embassy in Pyongyang, of which the operation had already been suspended since 2017.