马来西亚和朝鲜外交紧张升级

Malaysia is barring all North Koreans, including diplomats and embassy staff, from leaving the country, while North Korea is banning all Malaysians from leaving its territory, as the two nations continue a diplomatic battle kicked off by last month's killing of the half-brother of North Korea's leader. The decisions Tuesday followed earlier moves to expel each other's ambassadors.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said North Korea is "effectively holding our citizens hostage" and that he hopes the decision is reversed immediately in order to prevent further escalation.

The North Korean move was announced by state television, saying its ban would be in place until the safety of its citizens in Malaysia is guaranteed.

Kim Jong Nam, the half-brother of Kim Jon Un, was attacked February 13 at an airport in Kuala Lumpur with what Malaysian investigators say was VX nerve agent. He died 20 minutes later.

Malaysian authorities have charged a Vietnamese woman and an Indonesian woman with murder, saying they were the ones who rubbed the substance on Kim's face. Police are still seeking several other suspects they believe are connected to the killing, including several North Koreans. One North Korean suspect was detained for several weeks before being deported.

North Korea has not confirmed the dead man is Kim Jong Nam, and has rejected the Malaysian investigation in the case and any suggestions that it was behind the killing.

Kim Jong Nam was the older estranged brother of Kim Jong Un. Kim Jong Nam was once considered the heir apparent to lead North Korea, but he fell out of favor with their father, the late dictator Kim Jong Il, after a failed 2001 attempt to enter Japan on a forged passport to visit Disneyland. Since then, Kim Jong Nam had lived in virtual exile, primarily in the Chinese territory of Macau.马来西亚禁止所有朝鲜人，包括外交官和大使馆工作人员离开马来西亚，而朝鲜同样禁止所有马来西亚人离开其领土。两国继续上个月因朝鲜领导人金正恩同父异母的兄弟金正男遇害而引起的外交战役。星期二的决定之前，两国都驱逐了对方的大使。

马来西亚总理纳吉布拉扎克说，朝鲜“实际上将我国公民作为人质”，他希望立即改变这一决定，以防止事态进一步升级。

朝鲜的行动是由国家电视台宣布的，称其禁令将持续到在马来西亚的朝鲜公民的安全得到保证为止。

金正恩同父异母的兄弟金正男2月13日在吉隆坡一个机场遭到攻击，马来西亚调查人员说他被染上VX神经毒剂。他20分钟后死亡。

马来西亚当局指控一名越南女子和一名印度尼西亚女子犯有谋杀罪，指称她们在金正男脸上揉搓这种毒物。警方仍在寻找他们认为与此谋杀案有关的其他几名嫌疑人，其中包括几名朝鲜人。一名朝鲜嫌疑人被拘留了几个星期后被驱逐出境。

朝鲜没有确认死者是金正男，并拒绝马来西亚对案件的调查以及有关朝鲜是幕后指使的任何说法。

金正男比金正恩年长，两人已互不往来。金正男曾被认为是朝鲜领导人的继承人，但他在2001年企图以伪造护照进入日本前往迪斯尼乐园后，即在他们的父亲、已故的独裁者金正日面前失宠。从那时起，金正男就一直基本处于流亡中，主要生活在中国的澳门。