KUALA LUMPUR, May 17— The only North Korean restaurant here has now ceased operations, shortly after the murder of estranged heir Kim Jong-nam sparked tensions between Malaysia and the republic.
South Korean news agency Yonhap News reported that the Pyongyang Koryo restaurant in Kuala Lumpur has closed down and withdrawn its workers, citing drop in revenue as the official reason.
“The restaurant, the only one that the North has been operating in Malaysia, recently went out of business, and the North seemed to have withdrawn its workers,” an anonymous source told Yonhap.
There are reportedly 10 North Korean restaurants in South-east Asia, and all of them said to be directly linked to the Kim Jong-un regime.
Yonhap claimed that the restaurants are among the regime’s source of income to fund its nuclear and missile programmes.
Tensions between Malaysia and North Korea rose after Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Lim Jong-un, was killed after being swabbed with a chemical nerve agent at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 here on February 13.
The dispute between the governments lasted over a month, after North Korea repeatedly denounced Malaysia’s autopsy reports on the body.
The fallout saw diplomats from both countries being declared persona non-grata and returned to their home countries, and Malaysians there briefly blocked from leaving the country.
