WORLD : Prosecutors Expected to Seek Parole of N. Korean Bomb Agent
SEOUL — Prosecutors will seek parole for a North Korean agent convicted of bombing a South Korean jetliner in 1987, killing all 115 people aboard, newspapers reported today.
Local newspapers said the request will be made to President Roh Tae Woo next week. Prosecutors refused to comment.
Kim Hyon Hee, 27, was sentenced to death in connection with the Nov. 29, 1987, bombing. She said she planted a bomb on the Korean Air jetliner on orders from North Korean leaders. North Korea denied involvement.
Government officials have said Kim’s release would be considered because she cooperated in the investigation and fully repented.
Kim and her accomplice, an elderly North Korean man, placed a sophisticated pair of bombs in the overhead luggage bin of the Boeing 707, which was flying from Baghdad, Iraq, to Seoul on Nov. 3. The bombers got off the plane during a stopover. Several hours later, it vanished over the sea near Burma.
After the pair were arrested in Bahrain, the man committed suicide. Kim’s suicide attempt failed, and she was extradited to Seoul.
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