Leading N. Korean Defector Shot at Home in South Korea

Attackers shot a leading North Korean defector Saturday, leaving him in critical condition with bullet wounds to the head and chest.

The attack targeted Lee Han Young, 36, nephew of the former wife of late North Korean leader Kim Il Sung. Lee defected to South Korea in 1982.

The shooting occurred Saturday night at Lee’s apartment in Bundang, a suburb south of Seoul, Bundang Police Chief Kim Chong Nam said.

A witness told police that he heard a scream, and when he looked across into Lee’s apartment, he saw two men wearing raincoats, one of whom held a gun to the man’s head.

Lee was unconscious at Cha Hospital, doctors said.

There was no immediate word on suspects or motives in the shooting, which occurred at a time of heightened tensions between North and South Korea over a leading North Korean politician’s defection last week.

Hwang Jang Yop took refuge at South Korea’s consulate in Beijing, asking to defect to South Korea. A North Korean Embassy official warned today that Pyongyang would respond with force if South Korea moved Hwang to Seoul.