Pyongyang Demands Extradition of South Korean Ex-President Park for Execution

Pyongyang demanded extradition of former South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Lee Byung-ho, the former chief of South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS), according to local media.

Pyongyang urged Seoul on Wednesday to extradite former South Korean President Park Geun-hye, who was impeached in March over a national corruption scandal, for execution over her alleged involvement in a conspiracy to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, local media reported Wednesday.

North Korea, citing the UN counterterrorism resolution, also demanded the immediate extradition of Lee Byung-ho, the former chief of South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS), for his alleged involvement in the assassination plot, according the Yonhap news agency.

"Former President Park Geun-hye and former former spy chief Lee Byung-ho as well as agents of the National Intelligence Service cannot avoid being cruelly killed by anyone, any time and any means from now on," North Korean Ministry of State Security said in statement, as quoted by the agency.

In May, North Korea's intelligence services named key suspects in a case regarding the alleged preparation of a coup and attack on the country' leader. 

The list included Lee, two other South Korean intelligence officers and Xu Guanghai of the Qingdao Nazca Trade company, as suspects whose extradition was demanded by Pyongyang. 

North Korean authorities also suggested that both the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and NIS had planned an attack on Kim using biochemical substances.