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Around 800 police guarded buildings at Incheon International Airport as the torch arrived late Saturday. Dozens of Chinese students were on hand to greet the torch.

Around 8,000 police backed by police helicopters will be mobilized to guard the flame during a 20-kilometre relay on Sunday, KBS television reported quoting police officials.

Authorities fear clashes between pro-Chinese demonstrators and human rights activists, as well as protests against the deportation by China of North Korean refugees.

"We will take stern measures if protesters disrupt the torch relay," an official at the National Police Agency was quoted as saying by South Korea's Yonhap news agency.

Hundreds of Chinese residents meanwhile plan to welcome the Olympic flame, Yonhap reported.

The torch is in South Korea on its 17th leg after a one-day relay in Japan. The torch relay has been accompanied by protests on several stages around the world against China's crackdown on pro-independence demonstrators in Tibet.

The Olympic flame will then head to Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, on Sunday night.

Deutsche Presse-Agentur