DPRK wants death penalty for suspects in Kim Jong Un assassination plot

World
Europe

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said on Wednesday it wanted the death penalty for former South Korean President Park Geun-hye and her intelligence chief, whom it accuses of plotting to assassinate DPRK leader Kim Jong Un.

"There have been a series of revelations of state-sponsored terrorism of the enemies targeting the supreme leadership of the DPRK," the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said citing a joint statement issued by the country's Ministry of State Security, Ministry of People's Security and the Central Public Prosecutor's Office.

The statement said the enemies are employing "every possible vicious means" to replace the DPRK's leadership.

"We declare at home and abroad that we will impose the death penalty on traitor Park Geun-hye and ex-director of the puppet intelligence service ... criminals of hideous state-sponsored terrorism who hatched and pressed for the heinous plot to hurt the supreme leadership of the DPRK," Reuters news agency also cited KCNA as saying.

The plot was reportedly hatched in 2015.

South Korea's National Intelligence Agency (NIS) has said reports of the plot "had no grounds." It has not commented on Pyongyang's demand to hand over Park and former spy chief Lee Byung-ho.

(With inputs from Xinhua, Reuters)

808km