No sign of two Malaysians from North Korea at KLIA

There was no sign of the two Malaysians who had reportedly left Pyongyang at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang last night.

The duo, who were believed to return home last night, are United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP) employees, Stella Lim and Nyanaprakash Muniandy.

At 4pm Thursday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak via Twitter, confirmed that the duo had left the isolated state and safely arrived in Beijing.

WFP spokesperson confirmed the matter but remained tight-lipped about the details of their departure.

More than 50 media members, comprising local and foreign press, had gathered from 8pm hoping to catch a glimpse of the Malaysian citizens.

LANGSUNG dari KLIA apabila wartawan yang menunggu hampa apabila tiada rakyat Malaysia yg terkandas di #KoreaUtara tiba. @501Awani pic.twitter.com/kuKuT3SHXZ
— Hilal Azmi (@HilalAzmiAWANI) March 9, 2017

Sources familiar with the matter said the UN staffers will likely arrive early Friday morning.

North Korea had barred Malaysians from leaving the country on Tuesday, sparking tit-for-tat action by Malaysia as relations soured over its investigation into the murder last month of Kim Jong Nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.