Interpol elects South Korean Kim Jong Yang as new president

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had endorsed Kim, a South Korean police official, to replace former president, Meng Hongwei, who was recently detained on his return to China.

Alexander Prokopchuk, a former Russian Interior Ministry official had been tipped to take the role. Critics had opposed his potential nomination, accusing Moscow of using Interpol's systems to target and pursue the Kremlin's political foes.

On Monday a bipartisan group of US senators released a letter saying the election of Prokopchuk would be "akin to putting a fox in charge of a henhouse."

The organization's former president, Meng Hongwei, went missing on his return to China in late September. His wife Grace Meng raised the alarmed 10 days later and said she'd received threats via social networks and telephone.

Chinese authorities later announced Meng was being held and investigated for alleged corruption. Meng, was also a vice minister of public security in China, has been accused of accepting bribes and committing unspecified other crimes.

In a statement Monday, Human Rights Watch criticized the police organization's "curious unconcern about its disappeared ex-chief."

"This is extremely disappointing and worrying behavior from an organization that is supposed to protect people from abuses of power, not aid and abet such infringements," a spokesperson for Grace Meng said.

Developing story - more to come.

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