KUALA LUMPUR: The only North Korean arrested over the dramatic airport assassination of Kim Jong Nam is to be deported, Malaysia said on Thursday, as it announced the abrupt cancellation of a visa-waiver programme with Pyongyang.

The moves came the day after two young women appeared in court charged with murdering the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un with a banned nerve agent.

Attorney general Mohamed Apandi Ali said 47-year-old Ri Jong Chol would be released and deported on Friday.

`He is a free man. His remand expires and there is insufficient evidence to charge him,` Apandi said. `He has no proper [travel] documents so we will deport him.

Ri was arrested days after Kim suffered an agonising death when he was attacked at Kuala Lumpur International Airport as he waited to board a flight to Macau.

In a press conference at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur, the North`s deputy envoy to the United Nations, Ri Tong-II, reiterated Pyongyang`s assertion that Kim had died of a heart attack and that South Korea was peddling conspiracy theories regarding the use of nerve agents to damage the North`s image. `A strong indication for the cause of death is a heart attack,` said Ri who flew to Malaysia three days ago.

The senior diplomat dismissed the use of a toxin and once again urged Malaysia to release Kim`s body to the North Korean authorities.

The two countries, which had enjoyed relatively warm relations, have been at diplomatic daggers drawn since the killing. On Thursday Kuala Lumpur which had earlier recalled its ambassador said it was cancelling its visa-free travel deal with Pyongyang.

The government was implementing the change on the grounds of national security, Malaysian news agency Bernama quoted deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as saying.

The cancellation will take effect on March 6, after which North Koreans entering Malaysia will be required to obtain a visa, the report added.

`We are not looking for enemies but if they use Malaysia as a platform to carry out their agenda, they should not accuse Malaysia and tarnish our image on the international diplomatic front,` Ahmad Zahid told a public event.

Malaysia was one of only a tiny handful of countries around the world that had such a visa waiver scheme with North Korea. A senior Malaysian official told AFP that the government was mulling further `downgrading diplomatic ties` with North Korea. `Malaysia is considering shutting down its mission in Pyongyang,` he said, as well as the expulsion of the North Korean ambassador following his `baseless allegations`, a reference to accusations of bias in the murder probe.-AFPKUALA LUMPUR: The only North Korean arrested over the dramatic airport assassination of Kim Jong Nam is to be deported, Malaysia said on Thursday, as it announced the abrupt cancellation of a visa-waiver programme with Pyongyang.

The moves came the day after two young women appeared in court charged with murdering the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un with a banned nerve agent.

Attorney general Mohamed Apandi Ali said 47-year-old Ri Jong Chol would be released and deported on Friday.

`He is a free man. His remand expires and there is insufficient evidence to charge him,` Apandi said. `He has no proper [travel] documents so we will deport him.

Ri was arrested days after Kim suffered an agonising death when he was attacked at Kuala Lumpur International Airport as he waited to board a flight to Macau.

In a press conference at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur, the North`s deputy envoy to the United Nations, Ri Tong-II, reiterated Pyongyang`s assertion that Kim had died of a heart attack and that South Korea was peddling conspiracy theories regarding the use of nerve agents to damage the North`s image. `A strong indication for the cause of death is a heart attack,` said Ri who flew to Malaysia three days ago.

The senior diplomat dismissed the use of a toxin and once again urged Malaysia to release Kim`s body to the North Korean authorities.

The two countries, which had enjoyed relatively warm relations, have been at diplomatic daggers drawn since the killing. On Thursday Kuala Lumpur which had earlier recalled its ambassador said it was cancelling its visa-free travel deal with Pyongyang.

The government was implementing the change on the grounds of national security, Malaysian news agency Bernama quoted deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as saying.

The cancellation will take effect on March 6, after which North Koreans entering Malaysia will be required to obtain a visa, the report added.

`We are not looking for enemies but if they use Malaysia as a platform to carry out their agenda, they should not accuse Malaysia and tarnish our image on the international diplomatic front,` Ahmad Zahid told a public event.

Malaysia was one of only a tiny handful of countries around the world that had such a visa waiver scheme with North Korea. A senior Malaysian official told AFP that the government was mulling further `downgrading diplomatic ties` with North Korea. `Malaysia is considering shutting down its mission in Pyongyang,` he said, as well as the expulsion of the North Korean ambassador following his `baseless allegations`, a reference to accusations of bias in the murder probe.-AFP