U.S. ambassador to South Korea attacked during speech

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department said the American ambassador to South Korea, Mark Lippert, was injured in an assault during a breakfast speech in Seoul but that his injuries were not life threatening. "We strongly condemn this act of violence," State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said, adding Lippert was being treated at a hospital. President Barack Obama called Lippert to wish him a speedy recovery, White House National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said. "The president called U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, Mark Lippert, to tell him that he and his wife Robyn are in his thoughts and prayers, and to wish him the very best for a speedy recovery," Meehan said. Lippert, 42, was attending a breakfast forum in central Seoul when an unidentified assailant attacked him, slashing him in the face, a witness at the event told Reuters. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton and Peter Cooney; Editing by Doina Chiacu)