N. Korean defector tries to set himself on fire to disrupt Olympic torch relay in Seoul

The Associated Press ,  Seoul   |  Sun, 04/27/2008 7:35 PM  |  Sports

A North Korean defector tried to set himself on fire to halt the Olympic torch relay Sunday in Seoul, where thousands of police guarded the flame from protesters blasting China's treatment of North Korean refugees.

Hundreds of China supporters wearing red and waving the Chinese flag greeted the torch and threw rocks at demonstrators denouncing the torch run.

Police ran beside the flame and rode horses and bicycles with the relay across the city, which hosted the 1988 Olympics.

On other stops along the torch's globe-trotting journey, it was China's crackdown on violent protests against Chinese rule in Tibet that triggered attempts to disrupt the run celebrating the August games. But in South Korea, critics have focused on Beijing's treatment of defectors who try to escap their lives of hardship in the North.

Thousands of North Koreans have fled across the loosely controlled Chinese border rather than the heavily fortified frontier to the South. Many defectors live in hiding in China, but if caught there, they are deported and likely face imprisonment in life-threatening conditions.

The man who tried to immolate himself, 45-year-old Son Jong Hoon, had led an unsuccessful public campaign to save his brother from execution in the North, where he was accused of spying after the two met secretly in China.

About an hour into the relay, Son poured gasoline on himself and tried to light himself on fire, but police stopped him.

At the start of the relay, a protester rushed toward the Olympic flame and tried to unfurl a banner calling for China to respect the rights of North Korean refugees. Dozens of police surrounding the torch quickly whisked him away. Later as it approached the city center, another North Korean defector tried to impede the run and was arrested.

There were no further attempts to stop the torch on its 4 1/2- hour trip through Seoul to City Hall, where it was met by some 5,000 supporters.

Some 8,000 police were deployed across the South Korean capital to guard the torch on its 24-kilometer run from Olympic Park -- built to commemorate the 1988 Summer Games here.

Thousands of Chinese paced the torch. One group held aloft a large red Chinese flag and chanted, "Go China, go Olympics!"

Scuffles broke out near the relay's start between a group of 500 Chinese supporters and about 50 demonstrators criticizing Beijing's policies. The students threw stones and water bottles at the others as some 2,500 police tried to keep the two sides apart.

The torch arrived in Seoul from Japan, where there were minor attempts to halt the run but Chinese supporters outnumbered those protesting the event.

After Seoul, the torch was scheduled to fly to North Korea for its first-ever run in the communist country Monday. Disruptions were not expected in the North, an authoritarian state that tolerates no dissent. (****)

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