A buffet of North Korean tensions: The bitter diplomatic dispute between North Korea and Malaysia over the poisoning death of leader Kim Jong-un’s estranged half-brother escalated dramatically Tuesday, with Pyongyang saying it had banned Malaysians from leaving North Korea. The Guardian also quoted Malaysia's chief of police as saying that three North Korean nationals wanted in connection with the killing were hiding in the country's embassy in Kuala Lumpur as of Tuesday, and that a North Korean diplomat was among those wanted for questioning in connection with the murder. The two countries already kicked out each other's ambassadors over the murder — Malaysia first, on Saturday, and then North Korea on Monday, according to The Associated Press (although the Malaysian government had beaten Pyongyang to the punch by recalling their top diplomat back on Feb. 20). Malaysia And North Korea Are Heading Toward A Complete Diplomatic Breakdown

North Korea announced Tuesday that Malaysian citizens in the country would not be allowed to leave, and Malaysia retaliated by broadening a previous travel ban on North Korean Embassy officials to cover all North Korean citizens in the country. North Korea has fiercely denied any accusations of culpability and the row over the killing - and who has the right to claim Mr Kim's body - has rapidly escalated over the past two weeks. Najib characterized the ban as an “abhorrent act” enacted with “total disregard of all international law and diplomatic norms.”

In retaliation, the prime minister ordered his police force to detain all North Koreans attempting to leave Malaysia until “we are assured of the safety and security of all Malaysians in North Korea.”

There are 11 Malaysians in North Korea, according to a Malaysian foreign ministry official, including three embassy staff, six family members and two others. North Korea said it would temporarily bar all Malaysian citizens from leaving its borders – 11 in total, including diplomats and their families – until a dispute over an investigation into Kim Jong-nam is “properly solved.” It disputes findings by Malaysian authorities that Mr. Kim was killed with deadly VX nerve agent inside a Kuala Lumpur airport. Following Tuesday's announcement that all Malaysian citizens would be barred from leaving North Korea, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak accused the North Korean government of "effectively holding our citizens hostage," The Guardian reported. That process, in which each country declared the other's top diplomat persona non grata, is in keeping with the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, to which both countries are signatories.
North Korea temporarily bans all Malaysian nationals (estimated to be at least 11 people including embassy employees) from leaving the country amid a growing dispute between the two countries over the death of Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of Kim Jong-un. Malaysian official Khairy Jamaluddin calls the move "tantamount to taking hostages".