The murder of Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, in Malaysia will have very little effect on Malaysia's diplomatic ties with the countries involved, foreign relations analysts say.

Universiti Malaya professor of international and strategic studies Jatswan Singh said Jong-nam was not a North Korean diplomat or official and as such, his murder on Malaysian soil would have little effect on diplomatic relations between the two countries.

"He was not an official. He was just another North Korean who was killed here.

"Yes, of course there is an element of espionage, but the way I look at it they're investigating it just like any murder," Jatswan told Malaysiakini today.