The mysterious death of South Korean pastor Patrick Kim in China is being blamed on North Korea.<\/p>\n
“On a Sunday evening in August, a middle-aged South Korean pastor collapsed suddenly near a taxi stand in Dandong, a Chinese city on the Yalu River overlooking North Korea,” reports Barbara Demick in the Los Angeles Times.<\/em><\/p>\n Kim, declared dead on arrival at a local hospital, had a discolored complexion, spots on his fingers and limbs, flecks of foam on his mouth.\u00a0He was a human rights activist who secretly helped North Koreans escape into China.<\/p>\n “His family and South Korean diplomats believe he was killed by North Korean agents in retaliation,” writes Demick. “The weapon of choice: most likely a poisoned needle.”<\/p>\n “We are assuming there was a murder perpetrated. Although the evidence is circumstantial, it points strongly to North Korea,” retired South Korean intelligence officer Lee Dong-bak told the Times.\u00a0<\/em>“The poison needle has been in use by North Korean special operations for a long time.”<\/p>\n Kim was one of a number of evangelical Christians who not only smuggle defectors out of China but also send Bibles across the border.\u00a0In mid-September, South Korean intelligence arrested a North Korean defector on charges that he had planned a similar attack in Seoul.<\/p>\n “The target in that case was Park Sung-hak, a human rights activist who has launched balloons into North Korea carrying anti-regime leaflets,” reported Demick. “The intended weapon again was reportedly a poisoned needle.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The mysterious death of South Korean pastor Patrick Kim in China is being blamed on North Korea. “On a Sunday evening in August, a middle-aged South Korean pastor collapsed suddenly near a taxi stand in Dandong, a Chinese city on the Yalu River overlooking North Korea,” reports Barbara Demick in the Los Angeles Times. Kim,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":270,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[2226,2204,1731],"class_list":["post-8522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christian","tag-china","tag-christian","tag-korea"],"yoast_head":"\n