Hundreds of people have gathered in the center of Seoul to protest against US President Donald Trump’s two-day visit to the country, the Yonhap news agency reported on Tuesday.
According to the agency, hundreds of members of liberal activist groups, calling themselves “Collective Action for ‘No Trump,'” gathered in the central Gwanghwamun Square to stage a rally denouncing the US president’s visit to South Korea.
The demonstrators accused Trump of escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula with his provocative rhetoric, forcing South Korea into buying armaments and attempting to renegotiate the free trade deal between the two countries. The protesters are planning to hold a candlelight vigil starting at 7 p.m. local time (10 a.m. GMT).
Local police reinforced security measures, set up barriers and deployed additional officers in the central area of the capital, especially near the presidential residence, the Blue House. Several religious clerics reportedly made pilgrimages in a protest against the deployment of the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense systems in South Korea, but were stopped by the police when they headed to the presidential residence.