Rising tension spurs Malaysia to ban travel to North Korea

KUALA LUMPUR - 29 September 2017: Malaysia on Thursday banned citizens from traveling to North Korea, scotching yet again its soccer team’s participation in an Asian Cup qualifying match, as tension rises on the Korean peninsula over missile and nuclear development by Pyongyang.

Malaysia is one of the handful of countries that still has friendly diplomatic ties with North Korea, but relations have been strained since the murder of Kim Jong Un’s half brother at the airport in the Malaysian capital this year.

The travel ban will be reviewed once the situation has returned to normal, the Malaysian foreign ministry said in a statement.