US Ambassador to Seoul Lippert injured in assailant's attack

U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert was injured in an attack by an armed assailant Thursday morning.

Bleeding from his head and wrist heavily, Lippert was rushed to a nearby hospital. The suspect, identified as Kim Ki-Jong, 55, was immediately arrested.

The incident occurred just as when U.S. envoy was preparing to give a lecture at a session organized by a domestic civic group in central Seoul.

Police said Kim, a member of the civic group, slit Lippert's face and left wrist with a 25 centimeter-long razor blade.

The suspected attacker yelled that 'the Korean peninsula should be reunified,' according to the police.

In July 2010, Kim received a suspended two-year jail sentence for throwing a stone at the then Japanese ambassador to Seoul.

Lippert, 42, took the post in Seoul late last year. He is known as a longtime key adviser to President Barack Obama, who phoned Lippert to wish him a speedy recovery.