SEOUL, South Korea — The Olympic torch arrived today in South Korea on the latest leg of its world tour, with demonstrators vowing to disrupt its run through the city that hosted the 1988 Summer Games.
The torch relay was to begin later today from a park built for the Seoul Olympics and make a 15-mile journey to City Hall, although organizers won’t reveal the exact course because of concern over disruptions.
About 8,000 riot police were being deployed to guard the flame, along with about 100 officers with marathon-running experience to follow the torch in shifts. Officials say they will arrest anyone who tries to interrupt the relay.
Demonstrations are common in South Korea, and police have long experience corralling large crowds, from the 1980s pro-democracy movement to recent protests against a free-trade agreement with the United States.
Activist groups say they will try to block the torch as a protest against Chinese policies on North Korean refugees and Beijing’s crackdown in Tibet. The Associated Press
