A man watches a public TV screen showing an image of North Korea's state security minister Kim Won Hong. Five North Korean officials in the department of recently purged Kim Won Hong were executed by anti-aircraft guns because of false reports that 'enraged' leader Kim Jong Un. Photo: AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon

North Korea executed five senior security officials with anti-aircraft guns because they made false reports that "enraged" leader Kim Jong-un, South Korea's spy agency said yesterday.

The comments by the National Intelligence Service in a private briefing to lawmakers come as Malaysia investigates the poisoning death of Kim's estranged elder half brother, Kim Jong-nam.

That investigation is still going on, but South Korea said it believed Kim Jong-un ordered the assassination, which took place on February 13 at Kuala Lumpur's airport.

The spy agency told lawmakers that five North Korean officials in the department of recently purged state security chief Kim Won Hong were executed by anti-aircraft guns because of the false reports to Kim, South Korean lawmaker Lee Cheol Woo said. It's not clear what reports they allegedly made, and the NIS didn't say how it got its information.

South Korean spies have a spotty record when reporting about high-level events in authoritarian North Korea.

North Korea fired Kim Won Hong in January, presumably over corruption, abuse of power and torture committed by his agency, Seoul said earlier this month. (© Daily Telegraph London)

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