US ambassador to South Korea slashed in face by man shouting for North Korea unification

THE US ambassador to South Korea was slashed on the face and wrist by a knife-wielding attacker screaming for unification with North Korea.

njured US Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert is rushed to safetyAP

njured US Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert is rushed to safety

Mark Lippert was attacked at a breakfast speech in the South's capital of Seoul this morning.

He was left with a wound measuring 11cm (more than 4in) across his face, as well as suffering a ruptured tendon and nerve damage in his arm.

Images from the moments after the attack show Mr Lippert clutching bloody cloths to his wounds, although he appeared composed.

The 42-year-old had to undergo more than two hours of surgery, leaving him with 80 stitches in his face, following the assault.

In the aftermath of the incident security staff and police pinned his assailant, identified by officers as 55-year-old Kim Ki-Jong, to the ground.

As he was restrained,  Ki-Jong - who has a previous conviction for assaulting Japan's ambassador to South Korea in 2010 - screamed "I carried out an act of terror".

A US State Department spokeswoman said: "We strongly condemn this act of violence."

Mr Lippert was attacked at a breakfast meeting in SeoulAP

Mr Lippert was attacked at a breakfast meeting in Seoul

We strongly condemn this act of violence

A US State Department spokeswoman

President Barack Obama called Mr Lippert, who is his former aide, to wish him a speedy recovery.

South Korean President Park Guen-hye said the incident was an "attack on the South Korea-US alliance".

Mr Lippert later tweeted: "Doing well&in great spirits!…Will be back ASAP to advance US-ROK alliance! "

District police chief Yoon Myung-Soon said: "We have detained [the attacker] and are investigating the cause of the attack and other circumstances."

The suspect, identified by police as 55-year-old Kim Ki-jong, is detained by police officersAP

The suspect, identified by police as 55-year-old Kim Ki-jong, is detained by police officers

A spokesman for the Korea Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation, which hosted the event, apologised for the incident.

Mr Lippert, who took up his position in Seoul last October, has a distinguished military career, having served as an intelligence officer for naval special operations, winning a Bronze Star Medal following a tour in Iraq.

North and South Korea have remained divided since the 1950-53 Korean War.

They technically remain at war - with tensions heightening recently over joint military exercises carried out by the US and South Korea.

North Korea responded by firing two short-range missiles, which landed in the sea.

North Korea's official news agency, KCNA, described today's attack as "deserved punishment for the warmongering United States".

It labelled the incident as "the knife of justice" that it said reflected the anger of South Koreans opposed to the military exercises.

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