Korea madman slashes US ambassador’s face
A MAN wielding a 10in knife attacked the US ambassador to South Korea at an event promoting peace i n the region on Wednesday.
Mark Lippert was seen covered in blood with deep gashes on his face and left wrist, for which he needed urgent surgery.
The s uspect, identified by police as Kim Ki- j ong, 55, screamed: ‘ South and North Korea should be reunified’ according to local media.
Police said that the suspect had a history of violence. He reportedly threw a piece of concrete at the Japanese ambassador in 2010 and tried to set himself on fire in 2007.
The US State Department and Korean authorities condemned the attack in the capital, Seoul.
However North Korea’s KCNA news agency described it as ‘just punishment’ for America’s decision to hold joint military exercises with the South, and referred to the blade as the ‘knife of justice’.
Mr Lippert, 42, needed 80 stitches for a 4in wound on his cheek, said Chung Nam-sik, a doctor at Seoul’s Severance Hospital. He also had surgery on tendons and nerves in his arm and was stable yesterday. He may have sensory problems in his hand, Mr Chung said.
Nine hours after the attack Mr Lippert, who took up his post in October, wrote on Twitter that he was ‘doing well and in great spirits’ and would be back ‘ASAP’.
Witness Ahn Yang- ok said that Mr Lippert was waiting for a talk about peace when a man in Korean traditional dress ran over from a nearby table. As he stood up, the man wrestled him to the ground, another witness said. Mr Lippert was rushed to a police car with a handkerchief pressed to his cheek.
The idea of reunification with the aggressive pariah state to the north is a deeply sensitive issue in South Korea. The US backed Seoul in the Korean War of 1950-53 and still has 28,500 troops in the country, which some see as a barrier to peace talks.
The White House said President Obama had called Mr Lippert to offer prayers for his recovery.
Eighty stitches in his cheek