South Korea stages anti-war protest

In Seoul earlier today, demonstrators staged rallies to protest against the war in Afghanistan. The anti-war protesters gathered outside the US Embassy, due to anger over government plans to re-deploy its troops in Afghanistan.

South Korea announced its troop dispatch plan late last month. Local media reports said the government is considering increasing the number to 130, and plans to send about 300 troops by early next year. As a key US ally, South Korea dispatched troops to Iraq from 2003 to 2008.

An anti-war activist wearing a mask of U.S. President Barack Obama  performs before he receives a Nobel War Prize during a rally near  the U.S. embassy in Seoul November 18, 2009. About 40 protesters  rallied in Seoul on Wednesday to demand the U.S.-North Korea Summit  for making a peace treaty in the Korean Peninsula and to denounce  the South Korean government's decision to send its troops to  Afghanistan again, ahead of U.S. President Barack Obama's visit.  The right black banner reads, "Stop Afghanistan invasion by the U.S.".  REUTERS/Jo Yong-Hak