Donald Kirk is a journalist and the author of several books about Asian affairs, including Korea Betrayed: Kim Dae Jung and Sunshine (2009); Okinawa and Jeju: Bases of Discontent (2013); Kim Dae Jung and the Quest for the Nobel (with Kim Kisam, 2016)

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A photo illustration of Kim Jong Un
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An assassination plot financed by South Korea’s intel agency succeeded in recruiting an asset in Kim’s elite power circles, according to sources close to the plot.