Malaysians barred from leaving N Korea; KL retaliates

Kuala Lumpur

PRIME MINISTER Najib Razak has been plunged into an international political crisis involving North Korea, as news surfaced on Tuesday that Pyongyang has "temporarily" barred 11 Malaysians from leaving the totalitarian state.

Amid this latest escalation in the diplomatic fallout between the two sides, he called an emergency meeting of the National Security Council and instructed the Malaysian police to prevent all North Korean citizens from exiting the country until the safety of the Malaysians in North Korea has been secured.