SEOUL — Private South Korean groups were anything but pleased with Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage’s visit to discuss the proposed U.S. national missile defense system with Seoul officials.
Protests against the plan were held throughout the two-day visit. A Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the ministry apologized to Armitage, but the U.S. official said only that "he was happy we both live in countries where citizens in the street are allowed to say what they feel."
Five activists were apprehended shortly after 7 a.m. Thursday when they pelted a limousine with eggs at the Grand Hyatt Hotel where Armitage and his entourage were staying. A police spokesman said Armitage was jogging on the hotel grounds when the incident occurred. The activists, members of a civic group opposed to the missile defense plan, were still being questioned late Thursday, the spokesman said. He added that no decision had been made on whether or not to formally arrest them.
About 40 more missile defense plan opponents also held an egg-throwing protest at the gate to the Defense Ministry later in the morning when Armitage arrived there to meet with Defense Minister Kim Dong-shin. But the U.S. official’s car entered the ministry grounds through a back gate out of sight of the protesters, the police spokesman said.
The ministry is adjacent to Yongsan Garrison, the main U.S. military headquarters in South Korea. There was no protest at the gates to the garrison, but eggs thrown by demonstrators at the ministry hit a police car. The police spokesman said a few protesters were taken in for questioning.
Also on Thursday, police dispersed some 30 members of a civic group opposed to the missile defense system who staged a protest at the U.S. Embassy in downtown Seoul.
There also were protests at Incheon International Airport and at a park in downtown Seoul on Wednesday, the day Armitage and Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly arrived.
Bae Gi-chul contributed to this report.