North Korean authorities praised the recent attack on the US ambassador to South Korea, Mark Lippert, calling any attempts to link the incident to the North a "vicious intention" to step up a "smear campaign" against DPRK.
The attacker, identified as Kim Ki Jong, visited North Korea seven times between 1999 and 2007. South Korean police raided Kim's home seizing books and other printed material in search of evidence of his links to the North. Distribution or possession of such material violates South Korea's National Security Law, according to Yonhap.
Lippert was attacked as he was about to deliver a speech at a Sejong Hall breakfast meeting in Seoul. The attacker slashed the envoy's face and left hand. The US ambassador is currently recovering at the Severance hospital in Seoul after undergoing surgery.
