Malaysia to Release Kim Jong Nam's Body After February Murder

(Bloomberg) -- The body of Kim Jong Nam will be released and the nine Malaysians barred from leaving North Korea are on their way home, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said in a statement.

Kim Jong Nam, the half brother of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, was murdered more than a month ago in Kuala Lumpur, creating a tense standoff between the two nations. North Koreans would now be allowed to leave Malaysia and the coroner has approved the release of Kim's body, Najib said in the statement released late on Thursday.

Authorities in Malaysia said the chemical weapon VX was used in the attack on Kim Jong Nam, and have charged two women with the murder, saying they were trained to swipe the poison on the victim's face and knew the substance was toxic. South Korean government officials have speculated that Kim Jong Un was behind the killing of his half-brother, a critic of his leadership who had lived outside the country for years.

Tensions between Malaysia and North Korea rose in the wake of the attack with the latter declining to confirm that the deceased was Kim Jong Nam. Its officials said the man who was identified as Kim Chol probably died of a heart attack and the allegations that chemical materials were responsible for the death are lies.

The nine Malaysians would arrive at Kuala Lumpur around 5 a.m. local time on Friday, Najib said in the statement.

To contact the reporter on this story: Shamim Adam in Kuala Lumpur at sadam2@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net, Andrew Janes