Update 2 - US Envoy To South Korea Recovering From Knife Attack

The U.S. ambassador to South Korea was recovering Thursday following surgery for a face injury sustained in a knife attack, local media reported.



Mark Lippert, 42, was described by the American embassy in Seoul as being in "stable" condition after he sustained wounds to his face and wrist in the bloody attack that was condemned by South Korean President Park Geun-hye as "an attack on the alliance between South Korea and the U.S."



Lippert was assaulted during a breakfast meeting in the capital earlier in the day by a 55-year-old man the official Yonhap news agency described as a pro-North Korea activist.



The assailant was immediately arrested and identified as Kim Ki-Jong, a left-wing nationalist with a long history of provocative behavior.



U.S. law enforcement is closely coordinating with Korea's National Police, which have the lead in the investigation, according to U.S. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf.



"We cannot speculate on a motive at this time," she added in a statement.



A bloodied Lippert, an aide to U.S. President Barack Obama when he was a senator, was seen being led away from the scene of the attack while clutching his right cheek as an aide held makeshift bandages around his left wrist.



"I'm ok. Hey guys, don't worry," Lippert told reporters as he entered a local hospital.



He later tweeted a message in which he referred to his family. "Doing well&in great spirits! Robyn, Sejun, Grigsby & I - deeply moved by the support! Will be back ASAP to advance US-ROK alliance!"



Jung Nam-shik, head of the Yonsei University hospital, told Yonhap that Lippert had sustained five injuries, including a 4-inch (11-centimeter) long, 1-inch (3-cm) deep gash from his chin to cheek.



The envoy, who was appointed last October, received more than 80 stitches and will remain in the hospital for three to four days.



Harf, who had earlier condemned the violent confrontation, confirmed that Lippert is doing well following the surgery, and is "in great spirits."



She said the incident will not impede relations with Korea.



"The U.S.-ROK alliance is strong; we will not be deterred by senseless acts of violence," she said, referring to the Republic of Korea.



The suspect appeared to have broken his ankle during the incident, Yun Myeong-seong, head of Jongno police district, told reporters. Kim was interrogated for three hours on a stretcher before being transported to a hospital.



Kim was responsible for the first-ever attack on a foreign ambassador in Seoul in 2010 when he threw lumps of concrete at then Japanese Ambassador Toshinori Shigeie in protest about the dispute over a small island group. He received a suspended prison sentence for the attack.



According to South Korean intelligence sources cited by Yonhap, Kim visited North Korea six times between 2006 and 2007. In 2011, he tried to erect a memorial alter to mark the death of Kim Jong-il.



Four years earlier he had set himself on fire outside the presidential office in Seoul, demanding an inquiry into a 1988 rape.



Thursday's attack represented a different focus for the protester, as he told reporters that he assaulted Lippert because he "didn't like how a moron who's barely in his 40s was going to take on our inter-Korean policy."



Kim was also heard shouting his opposition to joint South Korean-U.S. military drills that began Monday and are deeply opposed by the North.



Some Koreans blame divisive issues such as the annual military exercises as holding back reunification with the North.



Park promised a "thorough investigation" in a statement issued during a four-nation tour of the Middle East.



Question were raised about the security at Thursday's event at Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Seoul, hosted by the Korea Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation. Kim had not been invited to the event, organizers said.



Yonhap cited police officials as saying they would bolster security around U.S. personnel and facilities.



Lippert, formerly assistant secretary of defense for Asian affairs, has become a likeable figure in Seoul with a regular social media presence. His Korea-born son was given a Korean middle name in January.



Bernadette Meehan, the U.S. National Security Council spokeswoman, said Obama called Lippert to wish him well. 



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