The motive behind the attack on the US ambassador to South Korea is unknown, according to the State Department in Washington.
The US Secretary of State John Kerry, speaking in Saudi Arabia, vowed that his country would never cede to threats.
Mark Lippert says he’s recovering well after surgery to treat wounds to his face and arm following the knife assault at a breakfast forum in Seoul.
He needed 80 stitches to close the gash in his face.
The 42-year-old was also treated for a puncture wound on his wrist and is expected to remain in hospital for three to four days.
South Korean police showed off the knife – about 25 centimetres long – said to have been used to attack the ambassador as he shook hands.
The man identified as 55-year-old Kim Ki-jong is a member of the pro-unification group that hosted the event, and had previously been arrested in 2010 for trying to attack a Japanese official.
As he was constrained and taken away following the knife attack he shouted that