Antiwar Protests Rock South Korea

The antiwar protestors were blocked from reaching the US embassy by 7,200 riot police, who used police buses to surround the embassy and barracade the streets. From atop the buses the police attacked the protestors with tear gas, and water cannon. "We oppose sending troops to Iraq," protesters shouted. "Withdraw U.S. troops from South Korea. President Roh Moo-hyun, Step down."

Demonstrators tore apart a huge US flag they held overhead near the U.S. embassy. After being drenched in police tear gas and water cannon, the anti-imperialist marchers scuffled with heavily armed police in hand to hand battles on the streets.

The antiwar rally also marked 59 years since the smashing of Japanese imperialism and the end of Japan's colonization of Korea. That fact was not lost on the demonstrators... who now see Japanese troops operating in Iraq as part of the so-called "coalition of the willing" (Photo by Lee Jae-Won/Reuters)