  We perform a theoretical study of the spectrum of protons with kinetic
energies of around 600 MeV, emitted following the interaction of 1 GeV/c kaons
with nuclei. A recent experimental analysis of this (K-,p) reaction on 12C,
based on the dominant quasielastic process, has suggested a deeply attractive
kaon nucleus potential. Our Monte Carlo simulation considers, in addition, the
one-and two-nucleon K- absorption processes producing hyperons that decay into
\pi N pairs. We find that this kaon in-flight reaction is not well suited to
determine the kaon optical potential due, essentially, to the limited
sensitivity of the cross section to its strength, but also to unavoidable
uncertainties from the coincidence requirement applied in the experiment. A
shallow kaon nucleus optical potential obtained in chiral models is perfectly
compatible with the observed spectrum.
