Beijing Says It Won’t Release Asylum Seeker
China refused to free a North Korean asylum seeker seized inside the South Korean Consulate in Beijing and defended officers who kicked and punched South Korean diplomats who tried to stop them.
The Chinese government rejected South Korean protests and denied breaking international agreements on the inviolability of consular and embassy grounds.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said there was no breach of the Vienna Convention because private security guards, not police officers, entered the consulate and dragged out the asylum seeker.
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