S.Koreans burn Kim Jong-un s photo over North s participation at Olympics

Seoul Jan 22 (IANS) Demonstrators on Monday burned a photo of the North Korean leader during a rally in Seoul against North Korea s participation in the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang in South Korea.

The rally at which the North Korean flag was also burned was led by the far-right Korean Patriots Party in front of Seoul s central train station according to Yonhap news agency reports Efe.

The protesters chose the train station because a North Korean delegation visiting South Korea to coordinate the North s participation in the Games which begin on February 9 plans to arrive at the station from the eastern city of Gangneung.

Strong security measures have been put in place ahead of the group s visit.

The activists read a statement in which they denounced that the PyeongChang Winter Olympics were turning into "Kim Jong-un s Pyongyang Olympics" that they claim legitimise its nuclear weapons programme before setting North s national flag and so-called unification flag on fire.

As well as agreeing on North Korea s participation at the PyeongChang Games the two countries which have been technically at war for more than 65 years also decided to form a joint women s ice hockey team and agreed on a joint march at the opening ceremony with the unification flag.

--IANS
sam/sac