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.
Security:
Heavy security has been deployed for the North Korean delegation on its visit in South Korea ahead of its planned participation in the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
Protected by a large contingent of police, the seven-member North Korean delegation travelled Monday on a high-speed train from Gangneung, a city on the south-east coast of South Korea, to Seoul, according to local agency Yonhap.
North Korea's 140-member Samjiyon orchestra will perform in both cities during the Winter Olympics.On Monday, the delegation are scheduled to inspect various concert halls in the South Korean capital before returning to North Korea.
The North Korean delegation is led by Hyon Son-wol, leader of the country's most popular band Moranbong, promoted by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, and the Samjiyon orchestra, formed exclusively for the upcoming Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, which will start on February 9.
The visit has attracted enormous attention from South Korean media and citizens, who gathered Monday around the delegation's hotel in Gangneung.
Though journalists asked some humiliating questions about the breakfast she had at the exit of the hotel, Hyon, who is rumoured to be Kim's lover, remained silent as she had been during the entire trip.
The train transporting the North Korean representatives was subsequently escorted by a large security force and the window blind of the delegation's train compartment was closed.
The visiting delegation, the first North Korean civilians to visit the South since Moon Jae-in was elected president in May 2017, was a result of the agreements reached by both countries in their high-level meetings held earlier in January.
The two Koreas, which technically remain at war for more than 65 years, agreed to have North Korean athletes compete in the 2018 Winter Olympics and maintain future military dialogues to avoid border friction, after two years of regional tensions due to North Korea's weapons programmes.
Based on these agreements, the South Korean delegation is set to visit Mount Kumgang in North Korea on Tuesday and the Masikryong ski resort, where they will attend cultural events and joint sports training.(IANS & IB Times Desk)
