US: A man protesting against repression in North Korea jumped the fence in front of UN headquarters in New York yesterday, drew a pistol from his pocket and fired seven shots, hitting the UN building between the 18th and 20th floors.
The neatly-dressed Korean man then dropped the gun, drew 25 leaflets from a brief case, threw them in the air and calmly leaned against a pole with one hand on his hip as he waited for police to arrest him.
The shooting occurred while the UN Security Council was holding discussions on Iraq inside the 38-floor glass-and-steel Secretariat building.
A UN spokesman said that shots from the pistol hit the 18th and 20th floors of the building, including the women's restroom on the 18th floor.
The leaflets were signed: "A citizen of UN, Steve Kim, Oct. 2, 2002." They were handwritten in English with many misspellings, and addressed to "all people who love freedom and justice".
They said: "In a shinning and civilized 21st century, most people in the world enjoying peace and freedom. North Korea however is groaning under the weight of starvation and dictatorial suppression. They don't have even the most basic of human rights since all things body and spirit plants and plows belong to one named greatest general Kim Jong Il."
UN security officials conducted floor-to-floor searches for more bullets after the shooting.