police are seeking an attempted murder charge against the crazed activist they say slashed the us ambassador to south korea while screaming demands for korean reunification the attack thursday on mark lippert, which prompted rival north korea to gloat about 'knife slashes of justice,' left deep gashes and damaged tendons and nerves it also raised questions about security in a city normally seen as ultra safe, despite regular threats of war from pyongyang while an extreme example, the attack is the latest act of political violence in a deeply divided country where some protesters portray their causes as matters of life and death scroll down for video  on the mend: us ambassador to south korea mark lippert appeared on thursday wrapped in a neck bandage  after a man attacked him with a knife during a lecture in seoul  suspect: police are seeking an attempted murder charge against anti us activist kim ki jong (above) who they say slashed the envoy while screaming demands for korean reunification  lippert, 42, was recovering well but still complaining of pain in the wound on his left wrist and a finger where doctors repaired nerve damage, severance hospital official yoon do heum said in televised briefing doctors will remove the 80 stiches on lippert's face on monday or tuesday and expect him to be out of the hospital by tuesday or wednesday hospital officials say he may experience sensory problems in his left hand for several months police, meanwhile, searched the offices of the suspect, kim ki jong for documents and computer files as they investigated how the attack was planned and whether others were involved  dumbfounded: kim was arrested in the immediate aftermath of the attack on lippert on thursday morning, which left the ambassador covered in blood  in custody: the 55 year old kim reportedly yelled 'north korea and south korea should be unified' before he attacked ambassador lippert at the breakfast meeting seen above being taken into custody on thursday  journalists question kim, who was brought out in a wheelchair, as he left the police station for a court in seoul earlier today  they want to charge kim with attempted murder, violence against a foreign envoy and business obstruction, and have requested a formal detention warrant a further charge of violating south korea's national security law, which bans south koreans from publicly sympathising with the north korean government, was being considered but the 55 year old has denied that he intended to kill lippert as part of their investigation they have also requested kim's past travels to north korea — seven times between 1999 and 2007 — during a previous era of inter korean cooperation, when seoul was ruled by a liberal government kim attempted to build a memorial altar for former north korean leader kim jong il after his death in december 2011, police said protest: south korean officials responded swiftly in response to the attacks, beefing up security outside the us embassy and promising justice above, a group of south korean protesters burn north korean flags in seoul during a rally denouncing the attack on thursday  pro american: while south korea is one of america's strongest allies in asia, there are factions of the country that are against the strong us military presence above, more us south korea alliance supporters pictured above on thursday  against the north: south korean protesters shout slogans as they hold the photos of north korean leader kim jong un, center and right, the late leaders kim jong il, second from left, and kim il sung, left, during a rally denouncing the attack on the us ambassador on thursday  kim, who has a long history of anti us protests, said he acted alone in the attack on lippert he told police it was meant as a protest of annual us south korean military drills that started monday — exercises that the north has long maintained are preparations for an invasion kim said the drills, which seoul and washington say are purely defensive, ruined efforts for reconciliation between the koreas, according to police officials while most south koreans look at the us presence favorably, america infuriates some leftists because of its role in korea's turbulent modern history washington, which backed the south during the 1950 53 korean war against the communist north, still stations 28,500 troops here, and anti us activists see the annual military drills with seoul as a major obstacle to their goal of a unified korea 'south and north korea should be reunified,' kim shouted as he slashed lippert with a 10 inch knife, police and witnesses said right before: lippert pictured above, seated at the breakfast table just prior to being attacked by kim thursday morning  stained: police say the ambassador was at his table and about to make a speech when kim pushed him from behind and then started slashing him with a knife above, investigators survey the blood spattered table on thursday  taken by surprise: injured ambassador lippert is seen leaving the performing arts center where he was slashed by kim thursday morning  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  south korean protection: south korean police patrol outside the us embassy in seoul on march 5 the protection of foreign dignitaries and embassies is customarily the responsibility of the host country  kim is well known among police and activists as one of a hard core group of protesters willing to use violence to highlight their causes police didn't consider the possibility that kim, who has ties to the korean council for reconciliation and cooperation, which hosted the breakfast meeting where lippert was attacked, would show up for the event, according to a seoul police official who didn't want to be named, citing office rules us ambassadors have security details, but their size largely depends on the threat level of the post seoul is not considered to be a particularly high threat post despite its proximity to the north korean border it's not clear how many guards lippert had, but they would have been fewer than the ambassadors in most of the mideast outspoken: kim ki jong reportedly has a history of public outbursts pictured above in an undated file photo from a prior protest  seoul's foreign ministry said it was the first time a foreign ambassador stationed in modern south korea had been injured in a violent attack however, the japanese ambassador narrowly escaped injury in 2010 when kim threw a piece of concrete at him, according to police kim, who was protesting japan's claim to small disputed islands that are occupied by south korea, hit the ambassador's secretary instead, media reports said, and was sentenced to a three year suspended prison term over the attack the website of the woorimadang activist group that kim heads describes the group's long history of anti us protests photos show him and other activists rallying last week in front of the us embassy in seoul to protest the us south korean military drills, which are to run until the end of april north korea's state controlled media crowed thursday that kim's 'knife slashes of justice' were 'a deserved punishment on war maniac us' and reflected the south korean people's protests against the us for driving the korean peninsula to the brink of war because of the joint military drills us secretary of state john kerry, in saudi arabia for meetings with regional leaders, said the us 'will never be intimidated or deterred by threats or by anybody who harms any american diplomats' activists in seoul, meanwhile, expressed worries that the attack on lippert would harm the public image of peaceful protesters, or prompt the conservative government to suppress their activities small to medium sized demonstrations regularly occur across seoul, and most are peaceful but scuffles with police do break out occasionally, and the burning of effigies of north korean and japanese leaders is also common some demonstrators have also severed their own fingers, thrown bodily fluids at embassies and tried to self immolate lippert became ambassador last october and has been a regular presence on social media and in speeches and presentations during his time in seoul he's regularly seen walking his basset hound, grigsby, near his residence, not far from where the attack happened his wife gave birth here and the couple gave their son a korean middle name while south korea is one of the us'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 us 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 us 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 us 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 us keeps troops in south korea at the ready however, the strong us 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
us south korea mark lippert thursday 55 year old kim ki jong kim north korea lippert several months
the us ambassador to south korea mark lippert was injured in a surprise knife attack at a breakfast meeting on thursday . a 55 year old man identified as kim ki jong was immediately arrested after the attack . police seeking three charges including attempted murder and business obstruction . doubts over whether he carried out attack alone or was part of larger conspiracy . it was revealed that kim has visited north korea several times and he shouted 'north and south korea should be united' be lashing out . lippert needed 80 stitches for slash wound to his face and may have nerve damage for several months for hand injuries . doctors say he is doing well but still experiencing some pain 