SEOUL, April 27 (Reuters) - The Olympic flame arrived in Seoul on Sunday to start a two-day journey on the divided Korean peninsula where it is expected to be met with protests in the South and cheers of fawning masses in the North on Monday.

The relay starts on Sunday at 2 p.m. (0500 GMT) at the venue used for the 1988 Seoul Olympics. The torch will travel to City Hall, about 20 km (12 miles) away, on a route yet to be disclosed for security reasons.

The global torch relay ahead of the Beijing Games in August has prompted protests against China's human rights record in Tibet as well as patriotic rallies by Chinese who criticise the West for vilifying Beijing.

In South Korea, pro-Tibet groups and those opposed to the way Beijing treats North Koreans fleeing the impoverished state for China have planned protests.

Chinese residents of South Korea have said they will turn out in force to cheer on the torch.

The flame is meant to transmit a message of peace and friendship, but its journey has been largely turned into a political event and the torch has been granted the sort of security usually reserved for state leaders.

South Korea plans to dispatch about 8,000 police officers, including its units trained to combat terrorist attacks, for the relay, a police official said.

The flame will next travel by airplane to North Korea, where it is expected to arrive in Pyongyang at around midnight local time (1500 GMT).

Isolated North Korea, which takes part in few international events, has promised China, its biggest benefactor and the closest thing it can claim as a major ally, that it will stage an "amazing" relay on Monday.

On the rare occasions North Korea hosts an honoured state visitor, it sends hundreds of thousands of its citizens into the streets of Pyongyang. Dressed in their finest clothes, they wave bouquets of pink and purple plastic flowers and cheer on cue when the guest passes by.

Human rights groups say North Korea's authoritarian leaders crush any attempt at dissent. A protest of any sort is certain to lead to at least a long sentence in a brutal political prison, or even execution. (Reporting by Jon Herskovitz and Cheon Jong-woo; Editing by David Fogarty)

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