North Korea Accuses US, South Korea Of Kim Jong Un Assassination Attempt

FILE - In this Oct. 10, 2015, file photo, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un salutes at a parade in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korea on Friday opened the first full congress of its ruling party since 1980, a major political event intended to showcase the country's stability and unity under leader Kim Jong Un despite international criticism and tough new sanctions over the North's recent nuclear test and a slew of missile launches. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File)
FILE - In this Oct. 10, 2015, file photo, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un salutes at a parade in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korea on Friday opened the first full congress of its ruling party since 1980, a major po... FILE - In this Oct. 10, 2015, file photo, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un salutes at a parade in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korea on Friday opened the first full congress of its ruling party since 1980, a major political event intended to showcase the country's stability and unity under leader Kim Jong Un despite international criticism and tough new sanctions over the North's recent nuclear test and a slew of missile launches. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Friday accused the U.S. and South Korean spy agencies of an unsuccessful assassination attempt on leader Kim Jong Un involving bio-chemical weapons.

In a statement carried on state media, North Korea’s Ministry of State Security said it will “ferret out and mercilessly destroy” the “terrorists” in the CIA and South Korean intelligence agency for targeting its supreme leadership.

North Korea frequently lambasts the United States and South Korea, but its accusation Friday was unusual in its detail.

The ministry said the spy agencies in June 2014 “ideologically corrupted and bribed” a North Korean citizen who had been working in Russia to carry out the alleged assassination on Kim after returning home.

It said South Korean agents gave money and satellite communication equipment to the North Korean to attack Kim during a public event with a bio-chemical weapon, such as a delayed-action radioactive or “nano poisonous” substance.

The ministry said after a series of contacts and payments, the agents told the North Korean last month that the type of bio-chemical substance had been decided and that it would be supplied by the CIA.

The statement said in response to the alleged plot, a “Korean-style anti-terrorist attack will be commenced from this moment to sweep away the intelligence and plot-breeding organizations of the U.S. imperialists and the puppet clique,” referring to South Korea.

Officials at South Korea’s National Intelligence Service did not answer repeated phone calls seeking comment.

The North Korean statement comes during a period of tension on the Korean Peninsula over concerns that the North is preparing another nuclear test or missile launch, including a possible test of an intercontinental ballistic missile. Such moves would be a step toward the country’s goal of developing nuclear-armed missiles capable of reaching the U.S. mainland.

Earlier this year, North Korea was accused of using the chemical war agent VX to assassinate Kim’s exiled half brother at Kuala Lumpur’s airport, which led to calls in the United States to relist the North as a state sponsor of terrorism.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Latest World News
Comments
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: