The Chinese Foreign Ministry demanded the Korean embassy hand over defectors being given sanctuary in the Korean embassy in Beijing, Tuesday, saying that under international and domestic law, foreign diplomatic missions could not offer protection to third country nationals. This is the first such demand to be made; it was not made when North Koreans entered the US, Canadian, Spanish and United Nation's missions.
The Korean embassy earlier announced that a fourth North Korean defector identified as "S," who had claimed to have been asked to leave the building on May 17 entered again on the morning of May 27 and was being given shelter along with three others.
"S" entered the consular section of the embassy without any trouble at 10:35am after speaking on the phone to consul general Lee Jun-kyu in advance. When S first entered the consulate on May 17, S said he told a female worker ¡°I want to go to the South¡± two times and a male worker once, but they might not have understood him as he spoke in a low voice, according to a consular official. As to his claim that he was run out by a consulate worker on May 17, he stated he walked out by himself.
(From Beijing, Yeo Si-dong, sdyeo@chosun.com)
