CCTV9英语新闻：美国驻韩大使在首尔遇袭受伤（在线收听）

US Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert is in a stable condition after a knife wielding attacker slashed his face and left wrist on Thursday.

Lippert was attending a breakfast meeting at a performing arts Centre in central Seoul, when he was attacked.

The attacker, who was identified as the 55-year-old Kim Ki-jong, reportedly has a history of militant Korean nationalistic activism.

After being held by police, he shouted to media his demands for North and South Korea to be reunified.

"The war exercise must be stopped. Separated families are currently unable to meet each other. Our unification with North Korea is being postponed. We need to stop the drills just like we did with the Team Spirit drill," he added.

South Korean President Park Guen-hye has said the incident was an "attack on the South Korea-US alliance". The US State Department strongly condemned the incident.

"Our government is planning to thoroughly examine and investigate this incident, and will take strong action against those accountable. Our government will make sure that we protect the security of diplomatic delegations and security of diplomatic offices and facilities. We hope Ambassador Mark Lippert will recover soon, and we express our deepest consolation to his family," said Noh Kwang-il, spokesman for South Korean foreign ministry.
 
Lippert - a former US assistant secretary of defence - was appointed ambassador to South Korea in 2014.