Amid the diplomatic row with Pyongyang, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has revealed that there are currently 315 North Korean nationals who have been living in Malaysia since 2014.

From the figure, theSun quoted Zahid as saying that 193 North Koreans have chosen to live in Malaysia since 2014 under the Tourism Ministry’s Malaysia My Second Home programme.

The others, said Zahid, who is also home minister, were students and others who are working in Malaysia.

Citing Immigration Department statistics, Zahid also said there were 2,453 North Korean citizens who have stayed in Malaysia between 2014 and this year.

"Out of the 2,453 citizens, 801 were here under the temporary work visit permits. Another 193 are those under the MM2H programme, 11 are students and 180 are miners in Sarawak.

"However, our record shows that only 315 remain here in Malaysia, while the rest have returned to their homeland," Zahid is reported as saying after launching the Jalinan Kasih carnival in Tawau, Sabah, yesterday.

While claiming that the movements of the 315 individuals would not be monitored specifically, Zahid also gave his assurance that there were available resources to oversee the possibilities of them being involved in any negative activity.

Zahid, who expressed confidence in prime minister Najib Abdul Razak’s handling of the matter, said there was no need for a third party or country to intervene in finding a solution to the diplomatic row between the two nations.

Following the expulsion of its ambassador to Malaysia, Pyongyang had last week barred all 11 Malaysians based at the country’s embassy in Pyongyang in North Korea from leaving the republic.

Subsequently, two of them, who are with a United Nations agency, were allowed to leave.

Najib, who was then in Jakarta, described the move as tantamount to holding the Malaysians hostage and convened an emergency National Security Council meeting upon arrival in Malaysia later the same day.

Malaysia-North Korea ties, reported to be cordial prior to this, soured following the murder of Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at KL International Airport 2 (KLIA2) on Feb 13.