Commando who tried to kill Korean president dies at 82

Kim Shin Jo, a former North Korean commando known for his involvement in a failed assassination attempt on then-South Korean president Park Chung Hee in 1968, has died at the age of 82.

- KIM TONG-HYUNG HYUNG-JIN KIM

He was pardoned and later became a pastor in South Korea, while his parents were executed by the North Korean regime.

In 1968, Kim was part of a 31-member North Korean commando unit that attempted to infiltrate the South Korean presidential palace to assassinate Park, who had been South Korea’s authoritarian leader since 1961.

The North Koreans had slipped undetected through the Koreas’ heavily fortified border and came within striking distance of Park’s palace. After battles that raged for two weeks in the nearby hills, all but three of the intruders were killed. Two survivors were believed to have returned to North Korea, while Kim was the only one captured alive by South Korean forces.

In a news conference arranged by South Korean authorities, Kim stunned the nation by saying that his team came “to slit the throat of Park Chung Hee”.