North Korea accuses U.S., South Korea of assassination attempt

North Korea on Friday accused the U.S. and South Korean spy agencies of an unsuccessful assassination attempt on leader Kim Jong-un involving bio-chemical weapons.

In a statement carried on state media, North Korea's Ministry of State Security said it will "ferret out and mercilessly destroy" the "terrorists" in the CIA and South Korean intelligence agency for targeting its supreme leadership.

North Korea frequently lambasts the United States and South Korea, but its accusation Friday was unusual in its detail.

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The ministry said the spy agencies in June 2014 "ideologically corrupted and bribed" a North Korean citizen who had been working in Russia to carry out the alleged assassination on Kim after returning home.

It said South Korean agents gave $20,000 and satellite communication equipment to the North Korean to attack Kim during a public event with a bio-chemical weapon, such as a "radioactive" and "nano poisonous" substance.

The ministry threatened that a counterattack would begin immediately. "Korean-style anti-terrorist attack will be commenced from this moment to sweep away the intelligence and plot-breeding organizations of the U.S. imperialists and the puppet clique," it said, referring to South Korea.

Officials at South Korea's National Intelligence Service were not immediately reachable for comment.

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