The Malaysian government has decided to stop issuing work permits for North Korean manual workers following the assassination of the estranged half-brother of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un in Kuala Lumpur earlier this year. The North Korean economy relies heavily on income appropriations from workers operating abroad. The Malaysian government has also been under pressure from the USA following the passing of a Bill in the U.S. House of Representatives in May – which extended sanctions against foreign companies that hire North Korean workers.