North Korean nuclear scientist suspected of suicide by poison

A North Korean scientist who defected to China is believed to have committed suicide in prison with poison.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un meets with nuclear weapons scientists and technicians in Pyongyang last year. Photo: KCNA

The Mirror reported that the man, in his 50s, was identified by senior North Korean sources earlier this month as Hyun Cheol Huh. He was a researcher at the physics center of the National Academy of Sciences in Pyongyang.

Hyun was among a group of North Koreans detained in Shenyang, China, on November 4 and forcibly repatriated on November 17.

Hyun is believed to have committed suicide by taking poison hours after being held in solitary confinement at the North Korean State Security Agency in the city of Sinuiju, while awaiting interrogation. It is unclear where he obtained the poison or how he concealed it.

The scientist is believed to have crossed the Tumen River into China while visiting relatives near the border. In China, he met several other defectors as part of a pre-planned plan. However, one of the group was a North Korean security agent in disguise and informed the Chinese police./.

According to VNE