U.S. Ambassador Mark Lippert vowed Tuesday not to change his "open and friendly" approach to diplomacy, as he left a South Korean hospital five days after being attacked by a knife-wielding man screaming about Korean unification.

Lippert told reporters assembled at Seoul's Severance Hospital that he felt "pretty darn good, all things considered" after the "scary incident" on Thursday, when police say an anti-U.S. activist slashed his face and left arm during a breakfast forum in Seoul.

Lippert, his face bandaged and his arm in a brace, would not comment on the specifics of the attack because of the police investigation. He refused to discuss possible new security measures, except to say U.S. officials would take "a hard look" at procedures in South Korea and then make a decision.

He said that since arriving in Seoul this past fall, he has "felt embraced and welcomed by the Korean people."

"In return, we have made it our mission to be open and friendly. And that will not change," he said. (AP)



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