KOTA SAMARAHAN: The government is considering having the Malaysian embassy in Beijing, handle matters pertaining to bilateral affairs between Malaysia and North Korea.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman said this follows the government's decision to not station any ambassadors in Pyongyang.

“The ministry will file recommendation papers for the Malaysian embassy in Beijing to be accredited to North Korea.

“At the moment, we have no plans to deploy any of our ambassadors to Pyongyang.

“As such, any matters pertaining to Malaysia and North Korea ties will be handled by our embassy in Beijing,” he said.

Anifah was speaking to reporters after attending a dialogue on 'Issues and Challenges in Managing Malaysia’s Foreign Relations' at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), here today.

The event was attended by more than 1,500 people.

During the dialogue, Anifah said the ministry is in the process of preparing Cabinet papers for the proposal to accreditate the Malaysian embassy in Beijing.

“We may or many not sever ties with North Korea but we will have it accredited from (the Malaysian embassy in Beijing),” he said.

On Sept 28, the ministry had issued a statement banning Malaysians from traveling to the North Korea.

The ban, the ministry said, would be enforced until further notice.

At the dialogue, Anifah also reflected on the events which transpired following the murder of North Korean Kim Chol at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (klia2) on Feb 13.

“If you remember, there were a flurry of statements from people commenting over the case. There were also statements from a number of people, who had nothing to do with it at all.

“Some of the hasty statements placed Malaysia in a bad light and incited the public even more.

“As a minister, I will only make statements when it is necessary because emotions can run high. At that moment, there is no need to add fuel to the fire,” said Anifah when he stressed his point on the importance of diplomacy.