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 U.S. ambassador Mark Lippert needed 80 stitches after his face was
slashed at a forum discussing Korean unification in the capital,
Seoul, on Thursday. The attack was carried out by a Korean
nationalist who said he was protesting against annual U.S.-South
Korean military exercises that began this week.
A senior official in the team investigating the attack said police
had requested a formal detention warrant, on charges that include
attempted murder, for the assailant, identified as 55-year old Kim
Ki-jong.
Investigators have established that Kim made seven visits to North
Korea between 1999 and 2007.
"We are investigating whether there is any connection between the
suspect's visits to North Korea and the crime committed against the
U.S. ambassador," Yoon Myeong-seong, chief of police in Seoul's
central Jongno district, told reporters.
Most South Koreans have never visited the secretive North. The two
states technically remain at war under a truce that ended the
1950-53 Korea War, and a heavily armed border divides the peninsula.
 Kim denied on Friday that his actions were connected in any way with
North Korea, calling the suggestion "nonsense", and told reporters
he had never been to the North, as he left a police station and
headed to court for his warrant hearing.
According to South Korea's Unification Ministry, Kim planted trees
near the North Korean city of Kaesong, near the border, during his
visits there. The ministry said it had authorized his visit requests
at the time.
Kim also faces charges for assaulting a foreign envoy and
obstructing business operations. Police raided his home and office
early on Friday, looking for evidence of whether he also broke a
state security law that bans supporting North Korea.
In 2010, Kim tried to attack the Japanese ambassador to South Korea
by throwing a piece of concrete and was given a suspended jail term,
according to police.
Kim was a member of the pro-unification group that hosted the
Thursday forum.
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North Korean state media has said the attack against Lippert was
"deserved punishment" for the military drills, calling the assault
"the knife of justice". South Korea's Unification Ministry condemned
the statement as "senseless".
The South Korean government ordered increased security for
diplomatic missions, including the U.S. embassy, and police said
they were providing protection for Lippert.
Lippert was accompanied by a bodyguard when the attack took place on
Thursday. Police were also present, although not at the request of
the U.S. embassy or organizers.
The United States is South Korea's closest ally and maintains a
military presence that includes 28,500 personnel. That has drawn
protest and criticism from some in South Korea in the past but
public opposition has eased in recent years.
Lippert is recovering in a Seoul hospital and has said he is in
"good spirits".
Doctors at Yonsei University's Severance Hospital said Lippert was
likely to remain there until early next week, when they planned to
remove his stitches.
Lippert underwent surgery on Thursday for an 11-cm (4 inches) gash
on the right side of his face and a puncture wound on his left wrist
that caused nerve damage, which was repaired.
(Additional reporting by Christine Kim and Seungyun Oh; Writing by
Jack Kim; Editing by Paul Tait and Tony Munroe)
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