THE Olympic torch made its first-ever relay run yesterday in Pyongyang, the 18th leg of its global tour.

An attentive and peaceful crowd of thousands watched the start of the relay in the capital of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), cheering and raising banners that read “Congratulations to the Successful Completion of Olympic Torch Relay in Pyongyang,” “Cheer for Beijing, Cheer for Pyongyang, Cheer for the Olympic Games,” “China-DPRK Friendship Passed on from Generation to Generation.”

The event was presided over by the head of the country’s parliament, Kim Yong Nam, who often acts as a ceremonial state leader. At the start of the run, Kim passed the torch to Pak Du Ik, who played on DPRK’s 1966 World Cup soccer team that made a historic trip to the quarterfinals.

As he began the 20-kilometer route through Pyongyang, thousands more cheering people lined city streets waving pink paper flowers and small flags with the Beijing Olympics logo and chanting “Welcome! Welcome!”

“I, as the first torch runner, will keep this beautiful memory deep in my heart forever,” Pak said.

Eighty bearers had been scheduled to carry the torch, about a quarter of them Chinese nationals working or studying in the DPRK.

Head of the Beijing Olympic flame delegation, Li Binghua, who is an executive vice president of the Beijing Organizing Committee of Olympic Games (BOCOG), said that the torch relay in Pyongyang “made him extremely excited” and he would “remember it forever.”

The flame will be taken to Vietnam and then to Hong Kong and Macao, before starting the final leg of the relay on the Chinese mainland.

Meanwhile, an official with the Mt. Qomolangma Olympic torch relay announced Sunday that the torch had reached the Base Camp of Qomolangma, the world’s highest peak.

(SD-Xinhua)