A Seoul court on Friday issued an arrest warrant for Kim Ki-jong, who committed a knife attack on U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert a day before, to take him into custody.

Judges from the Seoul Central District Court admitted the suspect’s charges of attempted murder, violence against and obstruction of official duty. The court cited the necessity of investigators' further scrutiny into a variety of allegations after detaining him.  

At around 7:40 a.m., Thursday, Kim ran toward the ambassador with a 25-cm-long paring knife. Lippert was eating breakfast before a speech during the forum organized by the Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation in downtown Seoul.

By Kim Yon-se (kys@heraldcorp.com)