Forty years ago today, a North Korean commando death squad infiltrated into Seoul to assassinate the President, Park Chung Hee, and then fought battles through the streets of Seoul to escape. It is one of those stories (like the 'ax murder incident' at the DMZ) that is almost too fantastical to believe.

Today, one of the assassins is a protestant minister living in South Korea.

Forty years ago today, on Jan. 21, 1968, a group of 31 heavily armed North Korean commandos slipped into Seoul in the darkness, planning to assassinate the president at the time, Park Chung Hee.
Rev. Kim Shin-jo, then 26, was one of the commandos.
The group’s mission eventually failed, but not before 30 South Korean civilians, soldiers and police were killed, along with 28 of the North Korean agents. Kim was the only North Korean agent captured alive. Two of his colleagues fled and were never found.
Kim gained notoriety for telling reporters, after his capture here, that “I came down to cut Park Chung Hee’s throat!”
Things have changed. Kim is now a Protestant pastor who leads a small church in Namyangjoo, north of Seoul. Over the past four decades, he has become a convert not only in religion, but also in ideology. He has turned into a hard-line anticommunist.
“I am happy that I live in a country where anyone can live a good life when they make an effort,” he said in a meeting with reporters yesterday.
The whole incident gripped the nation with fear for 10 days. The North Korean commandos exchanged gunfire with South Korean police in northern Seoul after they were stopped by police. After a running gun battle, the commandos spread out around Seoul in small groups. Some of them threw a grenade on a bus and others killed five civilians.

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