By Xinhua,
Seoul : Thousands of South Koreans plan to hold protests against U.S. President George W. Bush’s visit to Seoul on Tuesday amid tightened security measures in the capital city.
Civic activists against U.S. beef imports vowed to stage candlelight rally from 7 p.m. local time (1000 GMT) in Seoul. Organizers expected about 1,000 people will participate in the gathering, local media reported.
College students also planned to hold a protest near the U.S. embassy in downtown Seoul in the day.
In case of potential anti-U.S. rallies, the South Korean National Police Agency deployed a force of about 7,000 along Bush’s movement routes, with about 16,000 riot police on stand-by to control anti-American demonstrators, officials said.
Bush is set to arrive in Seoul at about 06:45 p.m. (0945 GMT) and have summit meeting with his South Korean counterpart Lee Myung-bak on Wednesday morning. Following the summit meeting, he is expected to hold a joint press conference with Lee and leave for Thailand Wednesday afternoon.