Pen Concealing a Poison Needle

early 2000s, North Korea

To release the poison inside this pen, twist the top to the right three or four times and then press it down. One prick from the poisoned needle would cause muscle paralysis, leading to suffocation and death. 

South Korean authorities found the weapon on a failed North Korean assassin in 2011. He had been ordered to kill a North Korean defector turned high-profile activist.

On loan from the Embassy of the Republic of Korea