North Korea issues order to kill South’s former president Park
Reports say the North was acting on a ‘revelation’ that Park Geun-hye and her spy chief masterminded a plot to execute its leaders in 2015
Seoul — North Korea said on Wednesday it has issued a standing order for the execution of former South Korean President Park Geun-hye and her spy chief for a plot to assassinate its leader, and it demanded that the South hand the pair over. The North’s official KCNA said a "revelation showed" Park had masterminded a plot to execute its "supreme leadership" in 2015 and it was imposing the "death penalty on traitor Park Geun-hye". KCNA did not disclose the source of the revelation but a Japanese newspaper reported this week that Park in 2015 approved a plan to overturn the North Korean regime of leader Kim Jong-un. Park was ousted in March over a corruption scandal and is in detention in South Korea while on trial. South Korea’s National Intelligence Agency (NIS) said the news report of a plot to kill Kim "had no grounds" and it had no immediate comment about the North’s demand for the handover of Park and her spy chief, Lee Byung-ho. Lee is no longer head of the NIS.
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