‘Kill Kim’: South Korean MP says North’s leader should be assassinated

Is he for real? A South Korean MP from the country’s ruling party has called on the president to order the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, arguing that only death would stop him from using nuclear weapons.

"Everybody will be happy if Kim Jong-un is removed," Ha Tae-keung, of the ruling Saenuri Party, said in an interview with the radio station YTN.

Ha, a former human rights activist turned lawmaker, argued that Seoul had a window of opportunity of four to five years to kill Kim before he unleashes a nuclear war.

Ha suggested that President Park Geun-hye should openly declare the intention to assassinate Kim Jong-un and seek international support for the effort, particularly from the US and Japan. He said it would be similar to what happened to late Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, who was ousted from power by a US-led invasion, captured, tried and sentenced to death by an Iraqi court.

"Kim Jong-un is a criminal," Ha said. "Getting rid of a criminal is appropriate and does not violate international laws."