(Reuters) — South Korean conservative protesters held an anti-North Korea rally in Seoul on Saturday (September 10) to denounce Pyongyang’s recent nuclear test.
About 100 protesters gathered in central Seoul, and chanted anti-North Korea slogans while holding up placards bearing a portrait of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un .
Protesters also burned an effigy of Kim Jong Un at the rally.
“South Korean people strongly urge the United Nations and the international community to impose stronger sanctions on North Korea and to immediately remove nuclear facilities in North Korea,” said protest leader, Park Chan-sung.
North Korea conducted its fifth and biggest nuclear test on Friday and said it had mastered the ability to mount a warhead on a ballistic missile, ratcheting up a threat that rivals and the United Nations have been powerless to contain.
The blast, on the 68th anniversary of North Korea’s founding, drew a fresh wave of global condemnation. The United States said it would work with partners to impose new sanctions, and called on China to use its influence – as North Korea’s main ally – to pressure Pyongyang to end its nuclear programme.
Under 32-year-old third-generation leader Kim Jong Un, North Korea has sped up development of its nuclear and missile programmes, despite U.N. sanctions that were tightened in March and have further isolated the impoverished country.
