NKorea's art of brinkmanship

SEOUL: Pyongyang's travel ban on Malaysians leaving North Korea sharply escalated the already-high tensions with Kuala Lumpur—but is only the latest episode of the isolated country's diplomatic brinkmanship.

The authoritarian, nuclear-armed state has a long history of using foreigners—especially American tourists or missionaries—as bargaining chips in its nuclear and aid negotiations with the US.