North Korea's Ministry of State Security claims it arrested a resident from the North who was operating on a mission to assassinate the communist country's leader, Kim Jong-il.

A spokesman for the agency said in a statement Friday that the North Korean was acting on orders from a South Korean intelligence official.

According to the agency, the suspect crossed the border to South Korea earlier this year and was persuaded by the South's intelligence agencies to work for them.

The agency accused the South Korean government of using despicable methods in an attempt to harm the North’s top leadership.

In September of last year, the agency issued a similar statement, claiming to have arrested North Korean residents controlled by intelligence agents from other countries.