“We had no intention to retaliate but this has to be done when a country with diplomatic ties with Malaysia acts without any diplomatic protocol,” Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told reporters at the Parliament lobby today.

“We want to send a clear message to the country – do not point fingers at Malaysia or underestimate Malaysia as a sovereign nation in carrying out a professional police investigation,” added Zahid, who is also home minister.

The North Korean foreign ministry today said it was “temporarily” barring Malaysians in the country from leaving “until the incident that happened in Malaysia is properly solved”.

The latest move comes after both countries sent home their ambassadors, following Malaysia’s decision to declare North Korean ambassador, Kang Chol, a “persona non grata”.

It is believed that there are 11 Malaysians currently in North Korea. A report by AFP estimated some 1,000 North Korean expatriates living in Malaysia. Many are involved in businesses such as computer animation, manufacturing “and some black market activities”, the report said.

North Korea-Malaysia ties became strained after Pyongyang protested an autopsy by Malaysian police on Kim Jong Nam, the half-brother of the North Korean dictator, who was believed to have been murdered on Feb 13 at low-cost carrier terminal klia2.

North Korea has not acknowledged the dead man’s identity but has repeatedly criticised the murder investigation and autopsy, accusing Malaysia of colluding with “hostile forces”.

Authorities have charged two women, a Vietnamese and an Indonesian, with Jong Nam’s murder. Police have also named eight North Korean nationals for questioning, one of whom has since been deported.