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North Korea claims CIA plotted to kill Kim Jong-un

North Korea claims CIA plotted to kill Kim Jong-un

North Korea has accused US and South Korean agents of plotting to kill its Supreme Leader, Kim Jong-un.

A North Korean referred to only as "Kim" was paid to carry out an attack with biochemical substances, the ministry of state security said.

The plot was foiled, it said, but gave no details on the fate of "Kim". The CIA declined to comment and South Korea has issued no statement so far.

The North's claim comes amid continued high tension on the Korean peninsula.

US President Donald Trump has promised to "solve" North Korea and stop it developing nuclear weapons.

A need for caution: Analysis by Michael Bristow, BBC News

The allegations made by North Korea are detailed. They gave names of people supposedly involved in the plot, dates on which key characters communicated with each other and the amounts of money that allegedly changed hands. But that is not proof that there is any truth to the accusations.

It is important to remember several things, not least that North Korea has provided no supporting evidence for its allegations. Past history also suggests caution. North Korea often uses colourful language and is no stranger to extravagant claims. Just this week it turned on its only real ally, China, accusing it of insincerity and betrayal.

With President Trump promising to stop North Korea developing nuclear weapons, these are also tense times, when Pyongyang could have been tempted to hit back at the US.

Until more is known, it's difficult to assess the validity of the claims.

 

'Human scum'

The ministry of state security statement, carried by state news agency KCNA, said the CIA and South Korean intelligence services had "hatched a vicious plot to hurt the supreme leadership of the DPRK".

It did not mention Kim Jong-un by name, but he is widely referred to as the supreme leader.

 

The ministry said a plot had been hatched to use "bomb terrorism" to target the supreme leadership at a military parade or at an event at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, the mausoleum of Kim Il-sung, the country's founding leader.

It said "Kim" had been told that the best method was the use of "biochemical substances including radioactive substance and nano poisonous substance" whose results would "appear after six or 12 months".

 

Killing Kim? How the 'plot' unfolded

June 2014: A North Korean working at a timber firm in the Khabarovsk territory of far-eastern Russia is "corrupted and bribed" by CIA and South Korean intelligence agents. The man - "Kim" - is given cash and a "satellite transmitter-receiver" and returns to Pyongyang

January, May, August, September 2016: "Kim" is in satellite contact with South Korean agents on handling biochemical agents and on the possible sites of an assassination attempt

March and April 2017: "Kim" meets a South Korean agent in the city of Dandong in China and is given a new transmitter and more cash. Further communications take place in April. The last date that appears in the North Korean statement is "early May", when "Kim" is supposed to receive "necessary equipment" via a "liaison centre" he has set up with his funding. No details are given on "Kim's" apprehension or fate

Source: Ministry of state security statement via KCNA

 

Credit: The BBC

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