8 South Korean Students Allegedly Tried to Enter US Base

A group of eight South Korean students was detained Tuesday for allegedly attempting to unlawfully enter a United States air base through its main gate—while shouting anti-US slogans, including, "Let's smash US 7th Air Force." South Korean authorities said US military personnel detained the four male and four female students at Osan Air Base near the capital Seoul. Yonhap reports six allegedly made it inside the compound, while the others were stopped at the entrance. They were later transferred to the custody of South Korean authorities and all invoked their right to remain silent during questioning, police said.

A US military statement said "unauthorized attempts to access a US military installation are taken extremely seriously." The AP reports the Korean Progressive University Student Union said in a statement on Facebook that those detained were members who were trying to protest what it called the US military's opposition to a South Korean semiconductor cluster project. Yonhap reported the US said it has important interests in a military airport set to be relocated over the semiconductor project. There are about 28,500 US troops stationed in South Korea to help deter potential aggression from North Korea.