Kim Shin-jo, who was part of a North Korean commando team tasked with assassinating South Korean dictator Park Chung-hee in 1968, has died at 82. Captured during the mission, he later transformed his life, becoming a Christian pastor in South Korea.
Kim Shin-jo, Notorious North Korean Assassin, Passes Away at 82
Kim Shin-jo, Notorious North Korean Assassin, Passes Away at 82
The lone captured member of a 1968 assassination mission against South Korea's dictator, Kim Shin-jo later became a prominent anti-Communist pastor.
Kim Shin-jo, the only captured member of a North Korean commando team tasked with assassinating South Korean dictator Park Chung-hee, died on Wednesday at a nursing hospital in Seoul, confirmed by his Sungrak Church. He was 82 years old, and old age was given as the cause of death.
In 1968, Mr. Kim and 30 other commandos executed an audacious mission: crossing the heavily fortified border between North and South Korea and traveling 40 miles into Seoul with plans to kill President Park and his associates. They managed to get close to the presidential Blue House but were ultimately met with strong resistance from South Korean forces during a fierce gunfight. Most of the assassins were killed either in the skirmish or by their own hands, but Kim surrendered and later played a prominent role as an anti-Communist speaker and Christian pastor in South Korea.
Shortly after his capture, Kim famously stated, “We came to slit President Park Chung-hee’s throat.” His mission and the subsequent North Korean seizure of the USS Pueblo marked a significant escalation in Cold War tensions on the Korean Peninsula. In response, Park's government trained its own assassins to target Kim Il-sung, North Korea's leader during that period, although plans were thwarted when a mutiny occurred among their ranks in 1971.
The thumbing of this event prompted South Korea to establish a special reservist army and integrate military training within educational institutions. The introduction of a residential ID system in response to security needs continues to serve South Korea today.
In 1968, Mr. Kim and 30 other commandos executed an audacious mission: crossing the heavily fortified border between North and South Korea and traveling 40 miles into Seoul with plans to kill President Park and his associates. They managed to get close to the presidential Blue House but were ultimately met with strong resistance from South Korean forces during a fierce gunfight. Most of the assassins were killed either in the skirmish or by their own hands, but Kim surrendered and later played a prominent role as an anti-Communist speaker and Christian pastor in South Korea.
Shortly after his capture, Kim famously stated, “We came to slit President Park Chung-hee’s throat.” His mission and the subsequent North Korean seizure of the USS Pueblo marked a significant escalation in Cold War tensions on the Korean Peninsula. In response, Park's government trained its own assassins to target Kim Il-sung, North Korea's leader during that period, although plans were thwarted when a mutiny occurred among their ranks in 1971.
The thumbing of this event prompted South Korea to establish a special reservist army and integrate military training within educational institutions. The introduction of a residential ID system in response to security needs continues to serve South Korea today.
