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Fate of asylum-seekers remains undecided

China and Japan denied on May 15 reports they had already reached an agreement to send to a third country five North Korean asylum-seekers dragged out of a Japanese consulate general by Chinese police as a way out of a diplomatic spat that has lasted a week.

Kyodo news reported the deal was made in talks in Tokyo between China's ambassador and a Japanese vice foreign minister, echoing an earlier media report saying the five could be sent to the United States or South Korea via Manila shortly.

But a Foreign Ministry official said Chinese Ambassador Wu Dawei and Vice Foreign Minister Yukio Takeuchi had agreed only that an urgent solution was vital.

"I was told that it was a discussion to try to seek a swift resolution of the humanitarian problem in line with international law," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda told reporters.

The official Xinhua news agency quoted the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan as saying, "there is absolutely no such consensus."

China would handle the issue "according to international and domestic laws, while taking humanitarian reasons into consideration," Kong said.

Shukan ST: May 24, 2002

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News Fate of asylum-seekers remains undecided China and Japan denied on May 15 reports they had already reached an agreement to send to a third country five North Korean asylum-seekers dragged out of a Japanese consulate general by Chinese police as a way out of a diplomatic spat that has lasted a week. Kyodo news reported the deal was made in talks in Tokyo between China's ambassador and a Japanese vice foreign minister, echoing an earlier media report saying the five could be sent to the United States or South Korea via Manila shortly. But a Foreign Ministry official said Chinese Ambassador Wu Dawei and Vice Foreign Minister Yukio Takeuchi had agreed only that an urgent solution was vital. "I was told that it was a discussion to try to seek a swift resolution of the humanitarian problem in line with international law," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda told reporters. The official Xinhua news agency quoted the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan as saying, "there is absolutely no such consensus." China would handle the issue "according to international and domestic laws, while taking humanitarian reasons into consideration," Kong said. Shukan ST: May 24, 2002 (C) All rights reserved