Malaysian authorities sealed off the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur to ascertain the number of officials inside, as tensions escalated over the killing of the North Korean leader's estranged half-brother, Reuters reported quoting deputy home minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed told reporters outside the embassy.

“We are trying to physically identify all the embassy staff who are here,”Nur Jazlan told reporters outside the embassy.

He said staff would not be allowed to leave the embassy “until we are satisfied of their numbers and where they are”.