Bust Yields North Korean Assassin's Toolbox

North Korean assassins are taking a page from 007: CNN says it's gotten a look at a trio of deadly weapons that are nearly indistinguishable from everyday objects. There's a pen containing a poison needle whose victim would feel just a scratch. Another pen shoots poison projectiles. And a flashlight can contain as many as three bullets. Said the target of a failed assassination attempt: "You'd notice a gun, but these weapons are so innocuous—you can easily kill someone. I'd be dead immediately."

The flashlight is a "new" idea, an anonymous investigator tells the news service. "I've never seen this weapon." Authorities fired one of the bullets as a test—and it worked well. Officials found the weapons on a North Korean man known as Ahn, who was arrested en route to a planned attack on an anti-Pyongyang activist. Authorities stopped activist Park San-hak on his way to meet the would-be assassin, who had offered to fund his work. "I didn't believe they'd try and kill me on the crowded streets of Seoul," says Park, who now has police protection.