I’m really late on this one. Following the sudden accidental and natural death of Hwang Jang-Yop on October 10, a suspected North Korean spy has been arrested as an “assassin-to-be” against the top-ranking defector. Ri Dong-sam, 46, was an agent with the elite “Office 35” branch of the Reconnaissance General Bureau. He trained for 5 years in the DPRK as an assassin and spy. These sorts of spies are responsible for tracking down and killing defectors from the North, and tend to pose as defectors themselves. His order to assassinate Hwang was given in December of 2009, and he moved from China to either Laos or Thailand, and in August 2010 attempted to enter the South where he was questioned (all alleged defectors are) which raised suspicious about his nature.
Source: The New York Times
