During the winter of 1968, North Korean Lt. Kim Shin-jo nearly changed the fate of the region — until some people chopping wood axed his assassination plot. The spy was part of a plan to assassinate South Korean President Park Chung-hee, a former general who had risen to power during a military coup seven years before. “I was in charge of the assault element, which would secure the first floor, allowing the rest of the team to proceed upstairs and kill Park,” Lt. Shin-jo told NBC News. But the unit ran into an unforeseen snafu: A band of wood choppers in the woods on the way to the mission. According to Lt. Shin-jo, 1968 was the year that matter most in terms of North Korea and South Korea relations. “It was really the turning point in terms of the power dynamic between the two countries, when North Korea was at its peak economically and militarily compared to the South,” he said.
The soldiers let the men live — against Lt. Shin-jo’s wishes — and the men immediately reported the encounter to a South Korean military post. The group was cut off and the captain gave the order to disengage and disperse. Lt. Shin-Jo ran south and was captured after attempting to hide in a house near central Seoul. He was interrogated, but his capture was deemed a defection ploy and his family, including his parents and six siblings, were executed by North Korean authorities.
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![[L-R] Bill Berry, Michael Stipe, Mike Mills and Peter Buck of R.E.M. at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, Illinois on July 7, 1984.](https://www.insidehook.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/rem-book-interview.jpg?resize=750%2C750)
