Failed North Korean Assassin Discovered With James Bond-Style Poison Pen

Failed North Korean Assassin Discovered With James Bond-Style Poison Pen
|

A failed North Korean assassin was discovered in South Korea with a personal armoury of tiny, James Bond-style devices on his way to murder a prominent activist.

The tech found on his person after he was apprehended in Seoul included a poison needle disguised as a pen.

The strange device - straight out of a James Bond film from decades past - was designed to look like a Parker-brand ballpoint.

The pen was shown to CNN, and described as "practically impossible to identify".

The poison it contained was designed to be injected with a subtle push from the assassin, and would suffocate a target in seconds.

A second pen was also found which shoots a bullet - also filled with poison - that penetrates the skin and releases a toxin.

A third device disguised as a flashlight - but containing a gun with three bullets - was also found.

Only the flashlight was "new" to the authorities, said CNN's source, but each is lethal and was intended to be used on a specific target - anti-North Korean activist Park Sang-hak.

The assassin - named only as "Ahn" - was intercepted by Korean intelligence before a planned meeting with Park.

Park was targeted, it is thought, in part because of his practice of sending balloons filled with anti-North propaganda over the border.