North Korea will reject Kim post-mortem result: ambassador

North Korea’s ambassador to Malaysia on Friday said Pyongyang would reject any results of a post-mortem examination carried out by Kuala Lumpur on the body of Kim Jong-Nam, the half brother of the North Korean leader.

“The Malaysian side forced the post-mortem without our permission and witnessing. We will categorically reject the result of the post-mortem conducted unilaterally excluding our attendance,” Kang Chol told reporters gathered outside the morgue where the body is being held.

It is the first official comment from North Korea since the killing of Kim Jong-Nam at Kuala Lumpur international airport on Monday.

“Today I met with the high officer of the Malaysian police and strongly demanded him to release the body without delay but he rejected our demand,” the ambassador said, according to an English transcript of his comments distributed immediately after by an aide.

Malaysian police were being pressured by hostile forces, notably South Korea, and the autopsy was a violation of human rights, he added.

South Korea has pointed the finger of blame at the North, citing a “standing order” from Kim Jong-Un to kill his sibling and a failed assassination bid in 2012 after he criticised the regime.

Malaysia would not release the body until a family member provided a DNA sample to prove the dead man’s identity, Selangor state police chief Abdul Samah Mat told AFP Friday.