KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- Malaysia's deputy prime minister says 315 North Koreans are in the country and barred from leaving amid a dispute over the killing of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's half brother.

The figure is lower than an estimate previously given by a government official, who had told The Associated Press that some 1,000 North Koreans were believed to be in Malaysia.

Malaysia says Kim Jong Nam died after two women smeared his face with a banned nerve agent Feb. 13 at Kuala Lumpur's airport, but North Korea rejects the findings. On Tuesday, the two countries barred each other's citizens from leaving.

Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said Sunday that 2,453 North Koreans came to Malaysia from 2014 to 2017, but that the latest record showed only 315 remained.