South Korean Police Probe US Envoy Attacker Links with North

South Korean police said on Friday they are investigating possible links between the North Korean government and a man who attacked the U.S. ambassador to Seoul. Authorities also said 55-year-old Kim Ki-jong faces possible attempted murder charges after slashing Ambassador Mark Lippert on the face and wrist with a small knife, leaving him with wounds needing 80 stitches. Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency responded to the attack by calling it "just punishment," and a valid "expression of resistance" to ongoing U.S.-South Korea military exercises. Yoon Myeong-seong, chief of police of central Seoul, said the suspect had visited North Korea around seven times between 1999 and 2007. Ambassador Lippert said Thursday he is "doing well and in great spirits," and later wrote on Twitter that he and his family were deeply moved by an outpouring of support and that he would soon return to advance U.S.-South Korean relations. Witnesses said the assault happened as Lippert attended a breakfast and a man police later identified as Kim Ki-jong attacked the ambassador with a 25-centimeter knife. South Korean media reported that Kim screamed, "South and North Korea should be reunified." The rival Koreas have been divided for decades along the world's most heavily armed border. The U.S. has stationed 28,500 troops in South Korea as a deterrent against North Korea, and some South Koreans see the U.S. presence as a barrier toward a unified Korea. South Korean President Park Geun-hye said the slashing was an "attack on the South Korea-U.S. alliance." Foreign Ministry spokesman Noh Kwang-il said the South Korean government will take steps to ensure diplomatic delegations are safe. "Our government cannot repress shock over a harmful act which occurred this morning against the U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert, and we express deep regret about what happened," Noh said. "Such harmful acts against the diplomatic delegation will not be accepted by any reasons, and we are taking this especially serious as it was committed against the ambassador to the U.S., which is our most important ally." The U.S. State Department also condemned the attack. White House officials said President Barack Obama called Lippert after the attack, and the State Department said Secretary of State John Kerry also spoke to the ambassador by phone to check on him.



from Voice of America http://ift.tt/1ESiebP