Update | North Korea is holding our citizens hostage, says Malaysia’s PM Najib, after tit-for-tat travel bans

North Korea banned Malaysians from leaving the country Tuesday, triggering a tit-for-tat response from Kuala Lumpur which said its citizens were effectively being held “hostage” in the row over the assassination of Kim Jong-nam.

Tuesday’s developments marked a dramatic heightening of tensions with Malaysia three weeks after the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was murdered at an airport with the banned VX nerve agent.

Watch: Malaysia and North Korea send envoys packing

The North decided to “temporarily ban the exit of Malaysian citizens in the DPRK”, the official news agency KCNA said, citing the foreign ministry and using the country’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The prohibition would remain in place “until the safety of the diplomats and citizens of the DPRK in Malaysia is fully guaranteed through the fair settlement of the case that occurred in Malaysia”.