SEOUL — The U.S. Embassy is warning all U.S. citizens in South Korea to avoid the area around Seoul City Hall on Thursday, when an estimated 15,000 demonstrators will gather.

The rally, scheduled for 2 p.m., is being staged by the Korea Non-Life Insurance Association, which is protesting changes to insurance regulations in the country.

“Political, labor and student demonstrations and marches have on occasion become confrontational and/or violent,” the embassy warned in a warden notice, or guidance. “American citizens and their family members should exercise caution and avoid gatherings of large groups in order to minimize risk to their personal safety.

Streets may also close without warning on orders of the local police.”

S. Korea to complete Iraq dispatch

SEOUL — South Korea this week will send the final 700 of 3,600 troops it pledged for the war in Iraq, officials said Tuesday.

According to the Ministry of Defense, the final group of soldiers will fly to Kuwait before joining the rest of its unit, which is stationed in the Northern Iraq town of Irbil.

The bulk of the South Korean force — the third largest foreign force in Iraq, behind the United States and the United Kingdom — arrived in Kurdish-controlled Irbil in September.

Since then, the Korean troops have been working to repair roads and power systems and to provide medical services.

They have not been involved in offensive operations and the region in which they are stationed has not seen insurgent activity.

Also on Tuesday, the South Korean cabinet approved a Defense Ministry request to extend the troops’ deployment by an additional year. The South Korean National Assembly must approve the request.

In a series of Internet warnings, unknown groups threatened to attack South Korea and its troops in Iraq if the dispatch was not cancelled.

The threats led South Korea to heighten its terror alert levels.

The U.S. Embassy issued a similar warning for Americans in South Korea, which was followed by U.S. Forces Korea imposing a 9 p.m. curfew on its personnel. The curfew later was pushed back to midnight.

Commander to spend holiday at Kunsan

OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea — The top U.S. Air Force commander in South Korea will spend Thanskgiving with airmen at Kunsan Air Base, a remote installation on South Korea’s western seacoast.

Two 7th Air Force leaders, Lt. Gen. Garry Trexler, commander, and Chief Master Sgt. Vance Clarke, the senior U.S. Air Force enlisted member in Korea, will be joined by their wives in serving meals to the Kunsan airmen at the on-base O’Malley Inn.

Kunsan Air Base is home to the 8th Fighter Wing, known as the Wolf Pack. The 7th Air Force is headquartered here, some 63 miles north of Kunsan.