Seoul: Kim Shin-jo, a former North Korean special forces soldier who embarked on a high-profile assassination mission in South Korea before transforming his life to become a pastor, died at the age of 83, as announced by his church on Wednesday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Kim Shin-jo passed away early in the morning, as confirmed by Sungrak Church in Seoul. Kim was one of 31 commandos rigorously trained in North Korea during the 1960s, tasked with infiltrating South Korea to assassinate then-President Park Chung-hee in 1968. He was the only member of the squad to be captured alive, while another managed to escape back to North Korea.
Kim was eventually allowed to settle as a civilian in South Korea and became a citizen in 1970. Embracing a new path, he converted to Christianity and had been serving as a pastor since 1997.