North Korea's ambassador to Malaysia denounced the country's investigation into the death of the exiled half brother of ruler Kim Jong Un on Monday, calling it politically motivated and demanding a joint probe amid increasingly bitter exchanges between the once-friendly nations. Malaysia responded with its own accusations, with a foreign ministry statement saying the ambassador's comments were "culled from delusions, lies, and half-truths," the AP reports. Earlier Monday, Malaysia said it was recalling its ambassador to Pyongyang. The diplomatic spat comes in the wake of the death last week of Kim Jong Nam, who died after apparently being poisoned in the Kuala Lumpur airport.
The attack spiraled into diplomatic fury when Malaysia refused to hand over Kim's corpse to North Korean diplomats and proceeded with at least one autopsy over the diplomats' objections. Police have so far arrested four people carrying identity documents from North Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Those arrested include two women who were allegedly seen approaching Kim on Feb. 13 as he stood at a ticketing kiosk. Investigators are still looking for four North Korean men who arrived in Malaysia on different days beginning Jan. 31 and flew out the same day as the attack. South Korea says it believes Pyongyang was behind the killing. (More Kim Jong Nam stories.)