SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Kim Shin-jo, a notable former North Korean commando who transitioned to a pastoral role in South Korea after a failed assassination attempt on then South Korean President Park Chung-hee in 1968, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 82. Kim's death was attributed to old age, and his official funeral is scheduled for Saturday at Sungrak Church in Seoul. He is survived by his wife and two children, a son and a daughter, whom he met after relocating to South Korea.

Kim was part of a squad of 31 commandos dispatched from North Korea with the intent to assassinate President Park, an authoritarian leader who had maintained a strong grip on South Korean governance since 1961. The commandos managed to infiltrate South Korea's heavily fortified border and successfully reached near Park's mountainside presidential palace. However, after intense skirmishes that lasted for two weeks in the surrounding hills, only three of the infiltrators survived; Kim was the sole individual captured alive by South Korean forces.

During a news conference orchestrated by South Korean authorities, Kim shocked the nation by stating that the mission aimed "to slit the throat of Park Chung-hee." This infiltration occurred at a time when Cold War tensions were high, dividing the Korean Peninsula into the U.S.-backed South and the Soviet-backed North following the end of World War II in 1945. In the wake of the incident, President Park's administration implemented various security measures, including the establishment of military units designed to retaliate against North Korea, increased military training for students, and the introduction of residential registration systems.

In subsequent media interviews, Kim recounted that he was pardoned because he did not fire any shots during the shootouts. He was convinced by South Korean officials to renounce communism, which allowed him to take on a role where he traveled around the country, delivering speeches critical of the North Korean regime. Tragically, he later learned that his parents in North Korea had been executed as a consequence of his defection. Kim was ordained as a Christian pastor in 1997.

Kim attributed the 1968 assassination attempt to directives from Kim Il Sung, the founder of North Korea and the grandfather of the current leader, Kim Jong Un. He stated that at the time, he did not understand Kim Il Sung's motivations but eventually concluded that the North Korean leader perceived a prosperous South Korea as a threat that could bolster military capabilities against the North. According to Kim Shin-jo, from the perspective of Kim Il Sung, eliminating President Park was essential to achieving the goal of communizing South Korea.

In a 2007 autobiography by Park Geun-hye, the daughter of President Park Chung-hee and South Korea’s first female president, she recalled her encounter with Kim Jong Il in 2022, during which he characterized the 1968 incident as an act orchestrated by "extremists." He purportedly expressed regret over the matter and mentioned that those involved had faced unspecified repercussions. However, these claims made by Kim Jong Il remain unverified: he passed away from a heart attack in late 2011.

Kim Shin-jo's life story reflects the complexities of Korean history and the enduring impact of the ideological divide that still influences the relationship between North and South Korea today. His transformation from a commando to a pastor encapsulates the broader themes of reconciliation and the personal consequences of political conflict on individuals and families across the divided peninsula.