S Korea to move against protests

South Koreans have staged demonstrations in all major cities

South Korea's government has vowed to crack down on the political unrest which has beset the country since the impeachment of President Roh Moo-Hyun.

Supporters of Mr Roh, suspended on Friday, have promised daily protests.

At the weekend tens of thousands joined candle-lit vigils in eight cities to voice their anger at the situation.

On Monday North Korea, which dubbed the impeachment a right-wing political rebellion, failed to turn up to talks with the South, blaming 'instability'.

North Korean demand

In an effort to curb that instability the South Korean government released a statement on Monday saying it would deal harshly with any further unrest and block future rallies.

If North Korea uses the impeachment as an excuse to be reluctant or to try avoiding six-party talks, we'll have to question North Korea's commitment to seeking peaceful resolution to the nuclear issue South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon

"Any moves or rallies that cause social disorder will be strictly dealt with in accordance with laws and principle," the statement said.

The three-days of North-South economic talks were abandoned after Pyongyang asked for them to be moved because of the "unstable" situation in the South.

North Korea said that the talks should be held in the Northern city of Kaesong not the South Korean city of Paju.

But South Korea's Unification Ministry, which handles relations with the North, objected to changing the location and, after North Korean officials failed to turn up at a border crossing to meet South Korean officials as planned, cancelled the meeting.

Nuclear fears

They were to discuss economic co-operation projects and rail and road links being built through the demilitarised zone between the two Koreas, Reuters reported.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? President Roh's powers suspended Case decided by Constitutional Court, could take six months PM Goh Kun becomes acting head of state 15 April National Assembly elections to go ahead

The two sides are now to discuss when and how to reschedule the talks.

But the cancellation has led to concerns that upcoming six-party talks with the US, the two Koreas, China, Russia and Japan on the North's nuclear programmes could also be jeopardised.

South Korea has tried to play down the impact of the impeachment on the nuclear talks, but warned the North not to use the political uncertainly to foot-drag on the issue.

"If North Korea uses the impeachment as an excuse to be reluctant or to try avoiding six-party talks, we'll have to question North Korea's commitment to seeking peaceful resolution to the nuclear issue," South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon said.

Newspaper plea

South Korea's interim leader Prime Minister Goh Kun has vowed to ease the political situation, taking out advertisements in all the country's main newspapers on Monday to reassure people his government would do its best to run the country and stabilise financial markets.

If they continue to reject our appeals, we will take action to disperse the rallies and subject the protest leaders to legal punishment National Police Agency statement

He called for public co-operation to help restore the social stability, but police have said that they expect thousands of Roh supporters to attend nightly protests in Seoul this week.

The protests are technically illegal, but so far the authorities have not attempted to prevent them going ahead, preferring to try to defuse the tension through persuasion rather than physical intervention.

However, on Monday police warned that future protests would be harshly dealt with and force would used if necessary.

"If they continue to reject our appeals, we will take action to disperse the rallies and subject the protest leaders to legal punishment," the National Police Agency said in a statement.

South Korea's parliament impeached Mr Roh for illegally endorsing a pro-government party and incompetence ahead of next month's general election.

The decision sparked angry scenes both inside and outside the parliament - anger that is showing no sign of abating.

Recent polls show 70% of the people believe the main charge of violating electoral law is not serious enough to warrant Mr Roh's suspension.