Olympic Torch Run In North Korea Protest-Free

April 28, 2008 8:17 p.m. EST

Pyongyang, North Korea (AHN) - The Olympic torch relay came and went without problems in North Korea on Monday, marking the first time that the flame didn't encounter any protest-marred incident in its route.

The torch's arrival in Pyongyang also was a historic one, as the hard-line country served host to the Olympic flame for the first time in its history.

As the relay started at the Juche Tower, thousands waited and cheered with Olympic flags and flowers, with some in attendance chanting "Welcome! Welcome!"

The head of the Parliament, Kim Yong Nam, led the ceremonies and handed the flame to soccer star Pak Du Ik, a member of the nation's 1966 World Cup team. Thousands more were gathered at Kim Il Sung Stadium, where the torch capped its five-hour run.

According to the Xinhua news agency, people carried banners that read: "Cheer for Beijing, Cheer for Pyongyang, Cheer for the Olympic Games."

"We express our basic position that while some impure forces have opposed China's hosting of the event and have been disruptive, we believe that constitutes a challenge to the Olympic idea," Pak Hak Son, North Korea's Olympic committee chairman, told Japan's Kyodo News agency.

Unlike its other stops in several countries, the torch cruised problem-free in the communist capital of Pyongyang.

China is a major North Korean ally and also an aid provider. The flame's warm reception in the North was seen as a fitting proof of the two neighbors' diplomatic ties.

The Olympic torch, which has been recently met with protests in Australia, Japan and South Korea, arrived in Vietnam on Monday. It will be run through the streets of Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday.