South Korea North Korea
Anti-North Korea protesters are angry at the hermit state's involvement in the XXIII Winter Olympics Yonhap via REUTERS

KEY POINTS

  • The Winter Olympics start on 8 February
  • Raising the North Korean flag in the South is normally a crime.

Just over a week before the Winter Olympics open in South Korea, protests have broken out in the country's capital of Seoul against the North Korean regime.

Around 50 protesters took to the streets of the capital in sub-zero conditions to protest against the involvement of North Korea in the winter games which begin on 8 February in the Pyeongchang region.

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Photos of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, along with the North Korean flag, were ripped up and burnt on top of a fire engine on Thursday (1 February).

At least one demonstrator was arrested in clashes with police.

In the run-up to the 2018 winter games, the two nations have sought to thaw the frozen relations between them.

The North will be sending around 20 athletes south of the border to compete in the XXIII Winter Olympics. Coaches, trainers, journalists and cheerleaders will join them for the two-week games.

Although competing separately, North and South Korea will walk into the opening ceremony together under one "unification flag".

Raising the North Korean flag in the South is regarded as a crime but on Thursday at the coastal Olympic village of Gangneung, the flag was raised along with those of all the other competing nation states.

The games will centre on Pyeongchang (not to be confused with the North Korean capital, Pyongyang), which will host the opening and closing ceremonies along with the skiing, snowboard and sliding competitions.

Gangneung will host the skating, hockey and curling games.

South Korea North Korea