Feb 3, 2018; Gangneung-si, KOR; People form a line and wait their turn to take pictures with the Olympic Rings on Gyeongpo Beach by the Sea of Japan in Gangneung-si, South Korea. Eric Seals-USA TODAY Sports

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea has banned 36,000 foreigners from entering the country ahead of the Winter Olympics, citing security concerns, Yonhap News Agency said on Monday.

Yonhap cited a South Korean lawmaker as saying the spy agency had told lawmakers it was working with foreign intelligence agencies to beef up foreign nationals’ identity checks as an anti-terrorism plan for the Olympics.