WORLD : S. Koreans Riot Over A-Dump
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SEOUL — Thousands of villagers went on a rampage today to protest a government plan to set up a nuclear waste disposal facility on their coastal island, police and news reports said.
About 50 villagers were arrested in the first major anti-nuclear protest in South Korea, which has nine nuclear power plants in operation and two under construction, according to a police spokesman.
About 10,000 villagers on Ahnmyun island, off the west coast of South Korea 80 miles southwest of Seoul, staged a rally against the facility at a central plaza, said the spokesman in the nearby Seosan police station.
When riot police tried to thwart the rioters, hundreds of protesters, including fishermen and students, took to the streets, the spokesman said.
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