He was once despatched to assassinate a South Korean president, but Kim Shin-jo was delighted at last week's inauguration of conservative Lee Myung-bak in Seoul. 'There has been something wrong in our society,' Mr Kim, 67, said of the past 10 years of liberal rule in Seoul. 'I believe Lee will defend freedom.'
The sole survivor of a North Korean commando squad given the task of 'cutting the throat' of then-South Korean president Park Chung-hee in 1968, Mr Kim, today a Presbyterian pastor, is a fierce critic of the engagement policy pursued by the previous two Seoul administrations.
'North Korea has not been 'engaged',' he thundered at his office in a Christian retreat among hills overlooking the frozen Han River, north of Seoul. 'Nothing has changed in the regime or the military: South Korean support has only made the regime stronger.'
He should know. Mr Kim grew up in a staunchly communist family in North Korea. At 24, during his military service, he was selected for special forces. 'I realised I was undertaking a revolutionary mission,' he said. 'My life was no longer guaranteed.'
Training was gruelling. They learned weaponry, navigation, parachuting, amphibious infiltration, camouflage. One concealment tactic was to dig into graves and hide. 'We slept with the bones: It made you fearless and nobody would think of looking for you in a grave.'
They swam rivers and ran up mountains. Carrying 30kg packs, they ran at 12km/h cross country. Sometimes they were starved and forced to eat roots, snakes and frogs. Some men lost toes, fingers and even feet to frostbite in winter. Martial arts were emphasised: on his left hand and arm Mr Kim still bears scars from knife fighting. 'I was a southpaw,' he explained.