Seoul: North Korean agents planned the assassination of Kim Jong-un.
South Korea believes that among the suspects wanted for the assassination of the half-brother of the North Korean leader are several officials working for the reclusive country's Foreign and State Security ministries; "Among the eight suspects in this case, four are from the Ministry of State Security and two who actually acted are from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," said Lee Cheol-woo, one of the parliamentarians briefed by South Korean intelligence.
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean intelligence believes that among the suspects wanted for the assassination of the half-brother of the North Korean leader are several officials working for the foreign and security ministries of the reclusive country, according to Seoul lawmakers.
Kim Jong Nam was killed this month at Malaysia's International Airport by assassins who used the nerve agent VX, a chemical agent capable of killing in minutes and listed by the United Nations (UN) as a weapon of mass destruction.
South Korea is extremely sensitive to events in its unpredictable, nuclear-armed neighbor, and intelligence officials briefed lawmakers on the assassination of the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
North Korea has not acknowledged that the victim is Kim Jong Nam, but officials in Seoul and the United States believe that Kim, who criticized the control of his family, was assassinated by North Korean agents.
"Among the eight suspects in this case, four are from the Ministry of State Security and two who actually acted are from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," said Lee Cheol-woo, one of the parliamentarians briefed by South Korean intelligence.
"That is why this is a case of state-led terrorism, directly organized by the Ministry of State Security and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," he added.
Malaysian police have identified a total of eight North Koreans as suspects or wanted for questioning, including a North Korean embassy official believed to still be in Kuala Lumpur.
On Sunday, Malaysian Health Minister Subramaniam Sathasivam said that Kim Jong Nam died between 15 and 20 minutes after being attacked by two women who are believed to have rubbed VX gas on his face.