Two North Korean border security agents who were repatriated after killing seven of their colleagues and fleeing to China are to be moved to Pyongyang and are likely to face capital punishment, according to a source in the city.

The two men, who apparently hail from Hyesan City Defense Security Command, reportedly committed the seven murders on the 23rd before fleeing, whereupon the North Korean authorities dispatched agents from 10th Corps into China to track them, where they were arrested by Chinese border security guards on the 27th and repatriated the following day.

According to an inside source, “An investigation is currently underway in the 7th Dept. of Defense Security Command in Hyesan. After the preliminary investigation they are planning to take the men to Pyongyang”. There, the case is to be taken over by the central authorities, reflecting its seriousness, the source added.

“The North Korean agents have already given up,” the source went on. “They attempted to harm themselves in the process of their arrest, proving that they know what is going to happen. They are being dealt with very carefully so that they remain calm and do not do anything unexpected.”

The source cited a security official as telling him also that, “It will be difficult for them to avoid capital punishment”. The investigation is currently focused on the motive behind the killings, including whether there are additional suspects and whether there are dissident reasons behind the murders. There have been reports that the killings were done for personal reasons, but these cannot be verified.

“The locals have no sympathy for them because they just killed too many people,” the source revealed. “The authorities are keeping it quiet because they are worried about the effect it could have on local people.”

The two men are scheduled for transfer to Pyongyang on or around the 4th for the next step in the investigative process.