By Alex Jensen
SEOUL
A man who launched an unprecedented attack on the United States Ambassador to South Korea this week was facing multiple charges including attempted murder Friday, according to Seoul police.
A day earlier, Kim Ki-jong was brought into custody after assaulting Mark Lippert with a 25-cm knife at a breakfast event, leaving the U.S. envoy with face and arm wounds that needed more than 80 stitches.
As police caught 55-year-old Kim red-handed following the attack, it became clear that the assailant was angry about ongoing joint South Korean-U.S. military exercises -- he is also associated with a long list of provocations related to the U.S. and Japan.
The head of Seoul's Jongno Police Station said Friday that an arrest warrant had been requested on charges of attempted murder, violence against a foreign envoy and business obstruction.
South Korean news agency Yonhap also reported that the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation is to be kept informed on the progress of a local probe into questions surrounding Kim's precise motivations and whether he had acted alone.
Kim managed to attend the Thursday breakfast event in central Seoul where the attack happened without having been personally invited, and has reportedly told police that he had no intention to kill Lippert.
The U.S. Embassy is understood to have not requested any special security.
There was also speculation concerning any potential impact on Seoul-Washington relations -- as a U.S. ambassador to South Korea had previously never been physically attacked.
Early indications suggested a possible link to North Korea, as Kim had previously received permission to visit the reclusive state on multiple occasions -- he also failed an attempt to erect an alter to late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in Seoul after the latter's death in 2011.
The North quickly aimed to capitalize on Thursday's attack, with Pyongyang's state-run KCNA news agency claiming that Lippert deserved what had happened and that the incident reflected "the mindset of South Korean people."
Seoul issued a response on Friday, with government spokesperson Lim Byeong-cheol insisting that South Korea "strongly criticizes North Korea for distorting the true nature of this incident and supporting it."
Citizens were also seen to be gathering outside the U.S. Embassy in Seoul to show their support.
As for Lippert, with security tightened around him and his family, doctors at Yonsei University's Severance Hospital in Seoul told reporters he was set to make a full recovery, albeit with temporary nerve damage to his left hand.
