Wounded U.S. ambassador 'lucky' to be alive

The U.S. ambassador to South Korea — slashed last week by an anti-American activist in Seoul — says he feels lucky to be alive after the knife attack.

"People tell me it was about two centimeters away from my carotid artery, which would've been horrible," Ambassador Mark Lippert said on NBC's Today show. "And again it missed all of the nerves in my face, and it missed my salivary gland, so I do feel very, very lucky to come through this the way I have."

Lippert, who needed 80 stitches on the side of his face and was also wounded on the arm, said he has no worries about going out in public in South Korea.

"I feel very safe here in Seoul," Lippert said. "When I walk the dog or go out with my wife, I pass literally dozens of police officers. The streets are safe, so I have no hesitation going forward to re-engage and continue my conversations and interactions with the people of Korea."

Lippert, a former foreign policy aide to President Obama, told NBC that the State Department is reviewing security policies when it comes to ambassadors: "I think that they're going to get to the bottom of it and take a hard look at all the tactics, techniques, procedures in place both here in Seoul and around the world."