Malaysia does not plan to send its envoy back to North Korea for the time being, says a report today by Oriental Daily News.

This is despite "improved" relations between the two countries, following the crisis after the murder of Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korea supreme leader Kim Jong-un, at KLIA2 on Feb 12.

"Our relationship is no longer rigid, in fact (the bilateral ties) are improving. When we got our people back in the country, it was a moment of victory," the Chinese daily quoted Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Reezal Merican Naina Merican as saying.

"Malaysia and North Korea have not cut ties (with each other), it's just that our relations are not like before. We should not raise the issue," Reezal is quotedf as saying when asked to respond on the Malaysian football team's scheduled meet with their North Korean counterparts at the 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers round in Pyongyang next month.

Commenting further, Reezal said it was inappropriate to send its envoy back to North Korea now as the country not only had issues with Malaysia, but with other countries as well.  

He urged Malaysians who wished to visit North Korea to be cautious about their own safety. 

Following Jong-nam's murder with the VX nerve agent, Pyongyang denied any role in the incident and demanded the return of his body - an offer which Malaysia refused, pending an investigation. 

This strained the relations between the two countries, with Malaysia recalling its envoy Mohamad Nizan Mohamad on Feb 20 for "consultations". 

On March 4, Malaysia declared North Korea's ambassador to Malaysia, Kang Chol as persona non grata and ordered him to leave the country within 48 hours.

This came after Kang issued some statements that implied Malaysia colluded with South Korea to blame North Korea for Jong-nam's murder.