The murder of Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, in Malaysia will have very little effect on Malaysia's diplomatic ties with the countries involved, foreign relations analysts say.

Universiti Malaya professor of international and strategic studies Jatswan Singh said Jong-nam was not a North Korean diplomat or official and as such, his murder on Malaysian soil would have little effect on diplomatic relations between the two countries.

"He was not an official. He was just another North Korean who was killed here.

"Yes, of course there is an element of espionage, but the way I look at it they're investigating it just like any murder," Jatswan told Malaysiakini today.

Malaysia's diplomatic ties with North Korea is also "low-key", he said, with not much traffic in relations between the two countries.

"It's not South Korea we are talking about, it's North Korea," he said.

There have also been concerns that China might take an interest in this incident as well, as they have been seen as being close to North Korea as well as Jong-nam, whose first wife and son reside in Beijing while his second wife and children live in Macau.

However, Jatswan pointed out, China has started distancing itself from North Korea, especially with regard to missile testing.

"So China has not been very happy over certain issues, but putting all that aside, yes, he was the half-brother of the North Korean leader, but he died not within his official capacity," he said.

Allow police to complete investigation

While Jong-nam's murder can be seen as an assassination, the police should be allowed to complete their investigations first, he said.

For now, he said, there is no need for the Foreign Ministry to get involved as this is currently still just a murder case and investigations are still ongoing.

"If it was a high-ranking diplomat of a country that is killed, of course (diplomatic) relations can be affected.

"He's just another North Korean who was killed," Jatswan insisted.

Political analyst Razak Baginda (photo) also said that this incident would have little effect on Malaysia's diplomatic relations.

"Malaysia is just a non-entity... Malaysia is just a place where the assassination took place.

"China, North Korea and South Korea know that Malaysia has nothing to do with the assassination itself (so) there will be very limited fallout for Malaysia," Razak told Malaysiakini.

Though there were concerns over the body, Razak said as the murder was committed on Malaysian soil and the suspects were caught here as well, it is clear that the body has to be retained in Malaysia until all procedures involving the case are completed.

"There are conventions, rules and protocol, because the murder took place on Malaysian soil and the suspects were caught in Malaysia, so it comes under Malaysian jurisdiction," he said.

However, another political analyst, Josh Hong, believes that Malaysia's diplomatic ties with North Korean would change, but only if the assassination of Jong-nam was proven to be done by Pyongyang.

"If it is confirmed that it was done by Jong-un, diplomatically Malaysia needs to announce its stance.

"Otherwise it is difficult to gain trust internationally," Hong said.

It would also be a test of Malaysia's diplomatic savviness, he said, if it was proven to be done by Pyongyang.

Even though Malaysia needs to take a stance on this incident in order to satisfy other countries, they have to do so without embarrassing China, he said.

"This is because international consensus is that Beijing is protecting Pyongyang.

"If Pyongyang has done such a shocking assassination, Beijing would also be embarrassed," Hong said.

Like Jatswan, fellow political analyst Phoon Wing Keong commended the fact that the police are handling the case instead of the Foreign Ministry.

"This could set the case as a murder and reduce the impact on diplomacy," Phoon explained.

He also said that Malaysia should be very careful in handling Jong-nam's body, and ensure that the body undergoes proper forensics and post-mortem before deciding where to return the body to.

"Malaysia should ensure the probe is completed and the forensics report is professional.

"This involves complex impact of international politics, so Malaysia should not return the body hastily and under pressure from North Korea," Phoon said.