Kim Shin-jo, Notorious North Korean Assassin, Passes Away in South as a Pastor

Kim Shin-jo's dramatic journey from North Korean commando to a preacher in the South concludes with his death, shedding light on Cold War tensions and individual transformations.

Kim Shin-jo, the only captured member of a North Korean assassination squad aimed at killing South Korea's then-dictator Park Chung-hee, has died at the age of 82 in a nursing hospital. His death was confirmed by Sungrak Church in Seoul, which attributed it to natural causes linked to old age.

In January 1968, Kim and a team of 31 commandos crossed the heavily guarded border between North and South Korea, ultimately infiltrating Seoul with plans to assassinate Park Chung-hee and his inner circle. The mission, which brought the commandos within striking distance of the presidential Blue House, was thwarted when South Korean forces engaged them in a brutal firefight. Most of the commandos were killed, either shot or taking their own lives, with only two escaping—one believed to have returned to North Korea, while Kim chose to surrender.

Immediately after his capture, Kim openly declared their intent: “We came to slit President Park Chung-hee’s throat.” This attack, taking place on January 21, 1968, alongside North Korea's subsequent seizure of the American ship USS Pueblo, marked a peak in Cold War tensions on the Korean Peninsula. In response, Park's government established its own covert unit to take revenge against North Korea, a program that was ultimately disbanded due to internal conflict in 1971.

In the wake of the raid, South Korea enacted significant military reforms, including training programs for high school and university students. They also implemented a residential ID system to help identify and prevent espionage by North Korean agents, a measure still in place for South Koreans aged 17 and older.

After his capture, Kim Shin-jo reinvented himself as a passionate anti-Communist and a devoted Christian minister in South Korea, a significant turnaround from his previous life. His adaptation to a new reality reflects a complex intersection of personal transformation and the profound historical narratives that shaped both Koreas during the Cold War era.