Man held over 'plot' to kill Korean defector

Authorities in South Korea have arrested a suspected North Korean agent for allegedly plotting to assassinate a high-profile defector who died of heart failure earlier this month, a prosecutor said today.

The alleged agent, Ri Dong Sam, was formally detained yesterday on suspicion of plotting to kill Hwang Jang-yop, a former senior member of the North’s ruling Worker Party, the prosecutor said.