A total of 874 police were placed around Incheon International Airport, Friday, as the US team arrived to take art in the World Cup. A fourteen-man team shadowed the US national soccer team from their arrival at 5:00pm, and four SWAT teams were placed around the immigration and custom counters, and escorted the team to the parking lot. Some 697 regular police officers were on duty as three SWAT teams and an armored car policed the parking lot, detouring cars to taxi stops temporarily and running metal detectors at all 30 entrances.

Two helicopters oversaw the team's route to the Marriott Hotel in Banpo, Seoul, and two police guards and eight armed SWAT officers were on board the bus, where Team USA's bodyguards were also deployed.

Prior to the arrival, police conducted a close search for explosives within a 100m radius of the hotel and plan to continue operations once a day during the team's stay. Some 23 of the 29 entrances to the hotel have been closed temporarily, and two inspection counters have been installed at each open entrance, while 163 police officers are on duty at the hotel.

A police source said that the agency have tightened the guard for team USA, because the country suffered the tragic September 11 terrorist attack, and intelligence confirmed that the World Cup could be a potential target of terrorist action against the US, assuring reinforced security for the team throughout their stay, from their entry to departure.

(Lee Dong-heok, dong@chosun.com )