Three people, believed to be agents of North Korea, have been caught smuggling $1.45 million in cash by the airport authorities in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, last week, Japan's Mainichi Shimbun reported.

An article in the leading Japanese news daily indicated that the money could be connected to illegal arms sales. An investigation by the Malaysian authorities is underway.

Mainichi said in its news report that the two male and one female North Koreans were carrying ordinary passports and that they arrived in Kuala Lumpur from Beijing.

They were arrested on site at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport and the cash was confiscated.

Following North Korea's third nuclear testing last March, and a subsequent resolution by the United Nations, North Korean national are prohibited from carrying large amounts of cash.

An inspection of the passports tended to show that the three were affiliated to the North Korean government although there have been no conclusive evidence.

However, the North Korean Embassy in Kuala Lumpur has reportedly been in contact with the Malaysian authorities in an attempt to retrieve the confiscated funds.

A reliable source on North Korea in Malaysia said it is important to determine where the money came from since there is every indication that the hermit kingdom is continuing to engage in illegal arms trade.