Dozens of protesters tried to prevent the arrival of the North Korean delegation at the closing ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Activists were protesting the presence of Kim Yong Chol, believed responsible for a 2010 attack against the South Korean corvette Cheonan causing the death of 46 sailors on board.
The Seoul authorities have deployed about 2.500 elements of the security forces for the occasion, but the protest, reports the local newspaper "Ytn", however forced the North Korean delegation to choose an alternative route.
The decision to protect the North Korean delegation did not please the opposition of the Korea Liberty Party, which accused the government of "treason". Kim Yong Chol, director of North Korean intelligence and vice president of the Central Commission of the North Korean Labor Party, is also accused of being behind the bombing of the southern island of Yeonpyeong, which also killed four others in 2010.
The forcing of the local press on the high official, who did not answer the journalists' questions, and on the government - writes the “Chosun Ilbo” - is severe and accused of not despising the memory of the victims of Cheonan.
Kim Yong-chol leads the high-level delegation that will participate in the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games. Ceremony which will also be attended by Ivanka Trump, the daughter of US President Donald. The parties exclude that there could be a face to face between the two delegations. The Pyongyang representation will be composed of eight members, including Ri Son-gwon, head of the agency for inter-Korean relations; a three day visit should begin on Saturday.
The South Korean government, according to the Unification Ministry, “believes that sending the delegation will help improve inter-Korean relations and bring peace to the Korean Peninsula, which includes the denuclearization of the North. In this sense Seoul will accept the visit ”. Northern delegates are likely to meet Southern President Moon Jae-in at the ceremony, a spokesman for the South Korean presidency speculated. (Nova)