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. (More North Korea stories.)