world

Updated: Mar 07, 2015 11:56 IST

Hospital officials say a well-wishing South Korean man tried to offer dog meat to injured US Ambassador Mark Lippert, who is recovering from an attack by a knife-wielding anti-US activist.

An official at the Seoul hospital where Lippert was being treated said Saturday that the elderly man arrived Friday morning with a package that he said was dog meat and seaweed soup. The official said the man asked the food to be delivered to Lippert to help him heal, but the hospital rejected the food.

South Koreans commonly offer dog meat to patients recovering from surgery based on old beliefs that it helps heal wounds.

A dog lover, Lippert had been regularly seen walking his basset hound, Grigsby, near his residence in Seoul before the attack on Thursday.