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US ambassador to S. Korea attacked

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U.S. envoy to South Korea Mark Lippert was injured on Thursday morning in a knife-wielding attack by a South Korean male assailant who shouted opposition to the ongoing U.S.-South Korea joint annual war games.

U.S. envoy to South Korea Mark Lippert was attacked by an armed man and injured in downtown Seoul on Thursday morning. [Photo/Xinhua]

Lippert, U.S. ambassador to Seoul who took office last year as the youngest envoy for the post, was slashed in his cheek and hand with a knife blade at about 7:40 a.m. local time when he was preparing for a lecture at a venue in Sejong Cultural Center in central Seoul.

The assailant was Kim Ki-jong, 55, head of a South Korean progressive cultural activity group. In July 2010, Kim received a suspended two-year jail term for throwing two pieces of concrete at the Japanese ambassador to Seoul.

While being arrested, Kim shouted his strong opposition to "war exercises," apparently indicating the South Korea-U.S. annual military exercises code-named "Key Resolve" and "Foal Eagle" that kicked off Monday.

Lippert was quickly taken to a nearby hospital to receive treatment on his cut in right face and in left hand.

The envoy, believed to be one of closest aides to U.S. President Barack Obama, gained popularity among South Koreans for his amicable actions and words toward the country. He gave a Korean name, Sejun, to his son born in Seoul in January, and it was posted online through his SNS account.

After the attack, the White House condemned the act of violence, saying that President Obama had called Lippert and wished his speedy recovery. It was the first attack against a U.S. ambassador to South Korea.

Concerns spread that such an act of violence may worsen the South Korea-U.S. alliance. Worries recently emerged over ties between Seoul and Washington as comments by U.S. Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman on South Korea-Japan relations raised controversy.

Sherman said Friday that it would not be hard for "a political leader anywhere to earn cheap applause by vilifying a former enemy, " referring to frosty relations between South Korea and Japan. Her comments were interpreted as the United Sates taking sides with Japan in the issue on wartime history shared by Seoul and Tokyo.

The attack on the U.S. envoy represented an anti-American sentiment shared by some South Koreans that hostile U.S. policy on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) may delay the reunification of the two Koreas.

Asked why he targeted the U.S. ambassador, Kim told reporters that the U.S. would "restore its reason" by his act, saying the South Korea-U.S. war games have prevented Korean families, separated by the 1950-53 Korean War, from being reunited. The assailant said he did the "right thing to do" as he has protested against war in the past 30 years.

A South Korean military official said on condition of anonymity over the phone that the "Key Resolve" and "Foal Eagle" military drills will continue as scheduled. The DPRK offered to suspend the war games in return for its halt of nuclear test in 2015, a proposal flatly rejected by Seoul and Washington.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye, who is now on a trip to the Middle East, described it as an "unpardonable attack against the South Korea-U.S. alliance" as well as a physical attack against the U.S. ambassador, expressing her consolations toward Lippert, President Obama and the U.S. government.

Seoul's foreign ministry said in a statement that such an act of violence toward diplomatic missions can never be pardoned in any case. The ministry said it "takes seriously" the accident as it was done against the ambassador of the United States, "the most important ally" of South Korea.

Rival political parties raised a worrying pitch toward the possible worsening of the U.S.-South Korea alliance. Kim Moo-sung, chief of the ruling Saenuri Party, said during a party meeting that it was a "terrorist attack" against the alliance between Seoul and Washington and terrorist forces should be rooted out.

"Using violence while shouting opposition to war" is a self- contradiction, Kim said.

Ruling party floor leader Yoo Seung-min expressed deep worries about the possibly serious effects on the South Korea-U.S. alliance. Moon Jae-in, head of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy, said violence can never be justified, expressing hopes for speed recovery of Lippert.

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