This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-31743055
The article has changed 13 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 11 | Version 12 |
|---|---|
| South Korea US envoy Lippert 'well' after knife attack | South Korea US envoy Lippert 'well' after knife attack |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| A militant Korean nationalist has slashed the face of the US ambassador to South Korea at a breakfast meeting in Seoul, but the envoy narrowly survived serious injury. | A militant Korean nationalist has slashed the face of the US ambassador to South Korea at a breakfast meeting in Seoul, but the envoy narrowly survived serious injury. |
| Mark Lippert, 42, was also cut on his left hand, with blood spattered over the breakfast table. | Mark Lippert, 42, was also cut on his left hand, with blood spattered over the breakfast table. |
| Security officers subdued the attacker, one pinning him down with a shoe on his neck, until he was arrested. | Security officers subdued the attacker, one pinning him down with a shoe on his neck, until he was arrested. |
| North Korea described the attack as "just punishment for US warmongers". | North Korea described the attack as "just punishment for US warmongers". |
| In a statement on state media, it said the attacker had delivered a "knife shower of justice". | In a statement on state media, it said the attacker had delivered a "knife shower of justice". |
| US Secretary of State John Kerry reacted by saying America would not be "intimidated or deterred by threats or by anybody who harms any American diplomats". | US Secretary of State John Kerry reacted by saying America would not be "intimidated or deterred by threats or by anybody who harms any American diplomats". |
| The attacker, named as Kim Ki-jong, 55, appears to have broken his ankle during the attack and was taken away on an ambulance trolley after questioning. | The attacker, named as Kim Ki-jong, 55, appears to have broken his ankle during the attack and was taken away on an ambulance trolley after questioning. |
| Mr Lippert had hospital treatment but later wrote in a tweet: "Doing well and in great spirits... Will be back ASAP to advance US-ROK [Republic of Korea] alliance!" | Mr Lippert had hospital treatment but later wrote in a tweet: "Doing well and in great spirits... Will be back ASAP to advance US-ROK [Republic of Korea] alliance!" |
| Analysis: Stephen Evans, BBC News, Seoul | Analysis: Stephen Evans, BBC News, Seoul |
| Nobody believes that pro-North Korean groups represent a majority of South Koreans but they are still a significant minority and part of the political landscape. | Nobody believes that pro-North Korean groups represent a majority of South Koreans but they are still a significant minority and part of the political landscape. |
| In November, South Korea's constitutional court ordered that the Unified Progressive Party be dissolved even though it had five members elected to parliament. The authorities said the UPP posed a threat to South Korean democracy. One of its leaders was jailed. | In November, South Korea's constitutional court ordered that the Unified Progressive Party be dissolved even though it had five members elected to parliament. The authorities said the UPP posed a threat to South Korean democracy. One of its leaders was jailed. |
| The counter-argument of the leftist nationalists is not so much that they want to be ruled by Pyongyang or fall under a North Korean system but that the American military presence in South Korea perpetuates a division within one people - the Korean people. | The counter-argument of the leftist nationalists is not so much that they want to be ruled by Pyongyang or fall under a North Korean system but that the American military presence in South Korea perpetuates a division within one people - the Korean people. |
| The strong feelings of pro-Pyongyang activists become most obvious when anti-Pyongyang activists launch balloons into the North loaded with propaganda messages. The two sides confront each other, with much jostling and shouting. There was a small pro-US demonstration after the attack on the ambassador but some on the streets of the capital said they applauded it. | The strong feelings of pro-Pyongyang activists become most obvious when anti-Pyongyang activists launch balloons into the North loaded with propaganda messages. The two sides confront each other, with much jostling and shouting. There was a small pro-US demonstration after the attack on the ambassador but some on the streets of the capital said they applauded it. |
| South Korean President Park Guen-hye condemned what she called an "attack on the South Korea-US alliance". | |
| Local people held a protest against the attack outside the hospital where Mr Lippert was treated, waving placards which read "Mark Lippert, Cheer up!" and "Korea-US relationship is solid". | Local people held a protest against the attack outside the hospital where Mr Lippert was treated, waving placards which read "Mark Lippert, Cheer up!" and "Korea-US relationship is solid". |
| Eighty stitches | Eighty stitches |
| The attack happened at about 07:40 local time (22:40 GMT Wednesday), as the ambassador was at a performing arts centre in central Seoul. | The attack happened at about 07:40 local time (22:40 GMT Wednesday), as the ambassador was at a performing arts centre in central Seoul. |
| It took 80 stitches to close his facial wound, which was 11cm (just more than 4 in) long and 3cm deep, doctors said. | It took 80 stitches to close his facial wound, which was 11cm (just more than 4 in) long and 3cm deep, doctors said. |
| The cut did not affect his nerves or salivary gland, hospital spokesman Chung Nam-sik said. | The cut did not affect his nerves or salivary gland, hospital spokesman Chung Nam-sik said. |
| Lew Dae-hyun, a plastic surgeon at Yonsei University's Severance Hospital, said Mr Lippert had narrowly escaped having much more serious injuries. | Lew Dae-hyun, a plastic surgeon at Yonsei University's Severance Hospital, said Mr Lippert had narrowly escaped having much more serious injuries. |
| "If the cut had been one to two centimetres deeper than it is now, it could have damaged the carotid on the upper neck, which could have turned it into a serious emergency situation," he said. "It could have been life-threatening." | "If the cut had been one to two centimetres deeper than it is now, it could have damaged the carotid on the upper neck, which could have turned it into a serious emergency situation," he said. "It could have been life-threatening." |
| Seoul is not considered to be a particularly high-threat post for US diplomats. | Seoul is not considered to be a particularly high-threat post for US diplomats. |
| Kim Ki-jong's militant past | Kim Ki-jong's militant past |
| 'Stretcher interrogation' | 'Stretcher interrogation' |
| South Korean police are seeking to establish what relations the attacker had with the North. | South Korean police are seeking to establish what relations the attacker had with the North. |
| He was interrogated three hours on his stretcher before being taken to hospital, the Yonhap news agency reports, quoting police. | He was interrogated three hours on his stretcher before being taken to hospital, the Yonhap news agency reports, quoting police. |
| "We considered the gravity of the issue and that the act could be seen as terrorism," an unnamed prosecution official said. | "We considered the gravity of the issue and that the act could be seen as terrorism," an unnamed prosecution official said. |
| Ahead of his attack, Mr Kim had reportedly shouted: "South and North Korea should be reunified!" and condemned the current annual military exercises held jointly by South Korea and the US. | Ahead of his attack, Mr Kim had reportedly shouted: "South and North Korea should be reunified!" and condemned the current annual military exercises held jointly by South Korea and the US. |
| North Korea has described the exercises - which involve more than 200,000 troops - as a rehearsal for an invasion and has vowed retaliation. | North Korea has described the exercises - which involve more than 200,000 troops - as a rehearsal for an invasion and has vowed retaliation. |
| The 1950-53 war which split the Korean peninsula ended in an armistice, with neither side able to claim outright victory. | The 1950-53 war which split the Korean peninsula ended in an armistice, with neither side able to claim outright victory. |
| No peace treaty has ever been signed and the sides regularly accuse each other of violating the agreement. | No peace treaty has ever been signed and the sides regularly accuse each other of violating the agreement. |
| Mr Lippert - a former US assistant secretary of defence - was appointed ambassador to South Korea in 2014. | Mr Lippert - a former US assistant secretary of defence - was appointed ambassador to South Korea in 2014. |
| His wife gave birth in the country, and the couple gave their son a Korean middle name, the AP news agency reports. | His wife gave birth in the country, and the couple gave their son a Korean middle name, the AP news agency reports. |