Horrific moment US Ambassador to South Korea was slashed in the face by knife-wielding activist in Seoul
The U.S. Ambassador to South Korea (left and right) was
attacked by a 'pro-North Korea activist' at a lecture in Seoul Thursday
morning. Ambassador Mark Lippert's injuries were non life-threatening.
The knife-wielding assailant was immediately taken into custody and
identified as a 55-year-old man named Kim Ki-Jong (inset). South Korean
intelligence officials told Yonhap News that Ki-Jong visited North Korea
six times between 2006 and 2007 and once tried to erect a memorial in
Seoul for late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. Right before the attack,
Kim reportedly shouted out 'North Korea and South Korea should be
unified'. Ambassador Lippert was safely taken to the hospital where he
received 80 stitches to his face wound.
Pictured: Horrific moment U.S. Ambassador to South Korea was slashed in the face by knife-wielding activist in Seoul, leaving him with 80 stitches
- Ambassador Mark Lippert, 42, was attending a lecture in Seoul Thursday morning when he was attacked
- Someone was heard yelling 'North Korea and South Korea should be unified' before a bloodied Lippert was escorted out of building
- A 55-year-old man identified as Kim Ki-jong was immediately arrested
- South Korean intelligence officials say Kim traveled to North Korea six times between 2006 and 2007
- In 2011, Kim also once tried to erect a memorial to late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in downtown Seoul
- Lippert was hospitalized for cuts to face and arms; is in stable condition
- The injury on his face necessitated 80 stitches, doctors say
- Attack comes just days after North Korea fired missiles into Sea of Japan in response to joint U.S.-South Korea military drills
- WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
A
horrific image has emerged showing the gaping wound inflicted on the
U.S. Ambassador to South Korea's face after a furious activist slashed
it open with a knife.
Mark
Lippert needed 80 stitches to fix the damage caused by the attack in
broad daylight as he attended a breakfast meeting Thursday morning in
Seoul.
Korean
media reports that someone yelled 'North Korea and South Korea should
be unified' and 'no to war training!' before the bloodied Ambassador was
seen leaving the Sejong performing-arts centre around 7:40am local
time.
The
attacker appears to have slashed Lippert on the right cheek and left
wrist. The State Department says the injuries are non-life-threatening
and that Lippert is in stable condition after undergoing surgery at a
nearby hospital.
'It is regrettable that an incident like this took place,' South Korean Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo said after the attack.
A
55-year-old 'pro-North Korea activist' name Kim Ki-jong was arrested
immediately after the attack, and video shows the suspect in a salmon
colored jacket being wrestled to the ground.
Scroll down for video
Horrific: The face of the U.S.
Ambassador needed 80 stitches after it was slashed open by a man who
reportedly yelled 'North Korea and South Korea should be unified'
Bloodied: U.S.
Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert was attacked by a knife-wielding
assailant before a morning lecture in Seoul on Thursday
Korean tensions:
Someone shouted 'North Korea and South Korea should be unified' before
the ambassador was seen being escorted out of the Sejong Center around
7:40am
Suspect in custody: A 55-year-old man
identified as Kim Ki-jong (pictured) was arrested after the attack.
Police say he shouted opposition to the joint U.S.-South Korean military
drills that started on Monday
Neutralised:
Emergency services have said the injuries inflicting on the Ambassador
by the 55-year-old 'pro-North Korea activist' named Kim Ki-jong are not
life threatening but he will need surgery
Police say the man was a member of the pro-Korean reunification group that organized the breakfast meeting on Thursday.
Just
before the ambassador was about to give a speech, Kim reportedly pushed
Lippert from behind onto a table and started slashing him with a
10-inch knife, police confirmed. Kim injured his foot in the fight.
Chung
Nam-sick of Severance Hospial says it took 80 stitches to close the
4-inches long and 1-inch deep wond to Ambassador Lippert's face.
While
there was no nerve or gland damage from the face gash, the knife
apparently cut nerves connected to Lippert's little finger and thumb
when Kim struck his left hand.
Nam-sik
says Lippert will remain at the hospital for three to four days and
could experience sensory issues with his left hand for several months.
Invited: Kim was allegedly invited to
the breakfast meeting as a member of the pro-Korean unification group
that organized the event. The suspect seen above being held down after
arrest
Stained: Police say the ambassador was
at his table and about to make a speech with Kim pushed him from behind
and then started slashing him with a knife. Above, investigators survey
the blood-spattered table on Thursday
Crime scene: Lippert's name card is seen on the left side of the table, just above a bowl of porridge or soup tainted with blood
Aftermath: A distraught looking woman
cleans the blood left on the door of the Sejong performing-arts centre,
where the U.S. Ambassador to South Korea was attacked by a
knife-wielding activist
Right before: Lippert pictured above, seated at the breakfast table just prior to being attacked by Kim Thursday morning
Outspoken: Kim Ki-jong reportedly has a
history of public outbursts. Pictured above in an undated file photo
from a prior protest
It appears this isn't the first time Kim has attacked a foreign official.
Yonhap
reports that Kim was handed a three-year suspended prison sentence in
2010 for hurling a slab of concrete at the Japanese ambassador.
He
was allegedly protesting the Japanese claim to the Dokdo Islands - a
small chain in the Sea of Japan that both countries claim sovereignty
over.
The
attack has drawn questions about whether Kim acted alone, or was part
of a larger conspiracy hatched perhaps by rival North Korea.
Kim has been described in the Korea Times as a 'pro-North Korea activist' and South Korean intelligence officials revealed to Yonhap the fact that Kim traveled to North Korea six times between 2006 and 2007.
In
2011, Kim allegedly tried to get a memorial erected to the late North
Korean leader Kim Jong-il in the middle of Seoul, the year the so-called
Supreme Leader died.
However, former FBI Assistant Director Tom Fuentes expressed skepticism of North Korean involvement.
'I can't imagine that this is a hired assassin,' Fuentes commented on CNN.
In
addition to his strong feelings about Korean reunification, Kim also
reportedly tried to set himself on fire in 2007 in an attempt to get the
government to investigate a 1988 rape at his office.
Rushed to the hospital: The State
Department says Lippert is in stable condition at the hospital. Above, a
group of men are seen escorting Ambassador Lippert out of the Sejun
center Thursday morning
Apprehended:
South Korean police in bright yellow uniforms restrain suspect Kim on
Thursday morning. Authorities say he was sentenced to two years in
prison in July 2010 for throwing a piece of concrete at the Japanese
ambassador
Pro-North Korea: South Korean
intelligence officials told Yonhap news that Kim visited North Korean
six times between 2006 and 2007 and once tried to get a memorial erected
to late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in 2011 - the year of the
so-called Supreme Leader's death
Activist: Korean media reports that
someone - now believed to be Kim (pictured) yelled 'North Korea and
South Korea should be unified' and 'no to war training!'
Taken by surprise: Ambassador Lippert
looks down with an expression of disbelief at his bleeding wrist as he
leaves the Sejun center on Thursday. Former U.S. Ambassador to South
Korea Chris Hill says he never felt unsafe during his time in Seoul
A HISTORY OF THE U.S.-SOUTH KOREAN RELATIONSHIP
While
South Korea is one of the U.S.'s closest Asian allies, America has been
partially blamed for the severing of Korea into two countries.
In 1910, the Japanese Empire took control of unified Korea which they ruled as a colony through the end of World War II.
When the Empire fell IN 1945, it was decided in a United Nations agreement that Korea be split in half at the 38th parallel.
The
U.S. established a trusteeship in the south while the Soviets took over
in the north, leading to the creation in 1948 of two separate
countries.
Above, American troops board a boat bound for South Korean at the onset of the Korean War in 1950
However,
both sides thought the situation was temporary that that their
respective country would ultimately become the sole head of unified
Korea.
Cold
War tensions between the U.S. and Soviet Union only fueled these
ambitions, and in 1950 the North Korean army invaded the south backed by
Chinese and Soviet soldiers.
While
the South Koreans nearly lost the war in just the first few months of
battle, the U.S. helped booster their forces and retake their land.
The fighting was disasterous for both countries, which eventually agreed to an armistance in July 1953.
Since the Korean War is technically ongoing, the U.S. keeps troops in South Korea at the ready.
However,
the strong U.S. military presence in South Korean has led to negative
sentiments from some citizens who oppose reliance on the West.
Still, South Korea remains one of the most pro-American populations in the world.
According
to a 2013 poll, 77 per cent of South Koreans surveyed said they
approved of President Obama's leadership - compared to just 45 per cent
of Americans at the same time.
North
and South Korea have been officially separate since the end of World
War II when the United Nations divided the country in half at the 38th
parallel. Tensions between dueling governments in the North and South -
fueled in part by the Cold War - sparked civil war in 1950 which is
still technically ongoing since it ended in armistice in 1953, not a
peace agreement. The U.S. maintains 28,500 troops in South Korea at the
ready for possible resumption in fighting with North Korea.
Some
South Koreans see this American presence as a deterrent for
reunification - a sentiment which is heavily present in North Korean
propaganda.
Former
U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Chris Hill says that though tensions are
high between North and South Korea, he never felt in danger in Seoul
and would often walk home from the embassy alone.
He
added that though he was given a security detail in his role as
ambassador, his security team was smaller compared to ambassadors in
higher-risk countries like Iraq.
South Korean protection: South Korean
police patrol outside the U.S. Embassy in Seoul on March 5. The
protection of foreign dignitaries and embassies is customarily the
responsibility of the host country
More patrols? The patrols outside seemed to be beefed up after the attack on Ambassador Lippert on Thursday
Stitched up: South Korean police stand
guard outside Gangbuk Samsung hospital where Ambassador Lippert was
taken after the attack on Thursday. Doctors say he needed 80 stitches
for the wound on his face
Taken away: Suspect Kim Ki-jong
appears to be yelling out as he's carried into an ambulance after the
attack on Thursday. Authorities say he injured his foot
Booking: Kim continues his pained expression as he arrives at a police station on a stretcher on Thursday
On
his Twitter profile, Lippert has posted several pictures of him walking
around the city relatively alone with his basset hound.
South
Korean Prime Minster Lee Wan-koo promised to beef up security for
foreign emissaries following the attack. While the U.S. provides some
security for their diplomats abroad, protection is customarily the
responsibility of the host country.
'It
is regrettable that an incident like this took place,' Lee Wan-koo said
following the attack, adding that he has ordered the best hospital care
for Lippert.
Lippert,
42, became ambassador last year and has been mostly popular during his
time in Seoul. His wife Robyn gave birth to a boy in January and the
proud-parents gave him a Korean middle name to mark his birthplace.
Lippert
was formerly the U.S. Assistant Secretary Defense for Asian affairs and
was a key adviser during President Obama's 2008 campaign. He is also a
Navy reservist.
New to the job: Lippert was named
Ambassador to South Korea in 2014. Pictured above with former South
Korean Prime Minister Chung Hong-won above. Current Prime Minister Lee
Wan-koo assumed office last month
Husband and
father: Ambassador Lippert's wife Robyn gave birth to their son James
William Sejun Lippert in South Korea in January. Sejun is a Korean name
Out and about in Seoul: Ambassador
Lippert's Twitter account shows several pictures of him walking about
Seoul with his pet basset hound
copy http://www.dailymail.co.uk
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário