North Korean 'poisoned needle assassin' jailed in Seoul

A North Korean defector has been jailed in South Korea for plotting to kill a high-profile activist with a poison-tipped needle. 

The defector, named only as An, was sentenced to four years' imprisonment by the court in Seoul.

He was accused of targeting Park Sang-hak, an anti-Pyongyang activist involved in sending propaganda leaflets to the North. 

Officials said he was ordered to kill fellow defector Mr Park by North Korea.

An has been described as a former commando in his 40s who defected to the South in the late 1990s. He was arrested in September 2011. 

Mr Park, his intended victim, leads a group that flies balloons across the border carrying leaflets criticising the North Korean leadership. 

Last year he told journalists that An had asked to meet him on 3 September, but he was warned not to go by intelligence officials. 

A North Korean defector has been jailed in South Korea for plotting to kill a high-profile activist with a poison-tipped needle. 

The defector, named only as An, was sentenced to four years' imprisonment by the court in Seoul.

He was accused of targeting Park Sang-hak, an anti-Pyongyang activist involved in sending propaganda leaflets to the North. 

Officials said he was ordered to kill fellow defector Mr Park by North Korea. 

An has been described as a former commando in his 40s who defected to the South in the late 1990s. He was arrested in September 2011. 

Mr Park, his intended victim, leads a group that flies balloons across the border carrying leaflets criticising the North Korean leadership. 

Last year he told journalists that An had asked to meet him on 3 September, but he was warned not to go by intelligence officials.