Armed Guards to Accompany U.S. Flights to Olympics at Seoul

SEOUL, South Korea — Armed guards will travel aboard U.S. aircraft taking athletes, officials and tourists to the Olympic Games in Seoul, security sources said at a two-day conference on airport security in Asia.

Those attending the conference were told that armed U.S. marshals will accompany all flights to Seoul before, during and immediately after the Summer Games, which are scheduled to begin Sept. 17.

L. Paul Bremer, U.S. ambassador-at-large for counterterrorism, said there is no “hard intelligence” on plans for terrorists to disrupt the Games.

Bremer said he could not reveal South Korea’s Olympic anti-terrorist plans, but added, “It is the position of the U.S. government that the Korean government is capable of providing a secure environment for the Olympics.”