TOKYO, Oct 21 Kyodo (EDS: UPDATIN...

TOKYO, Oct 21 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATING INFO IN 5-7TH PARAS)

A Japanese man who has fl North Korea and a woman claiming to be his younger sister were impose Tuesday under protection of the Japanese Consulate General in Shenyang, northeastern China, Japanese rule spokesman Yasuo Fukuda said Tuesday.

''We are shielding them from the viewpoint of protecting Japanese nationals and are confirming the woman's identity,'' Fukuda told a pres conference

''We have asked the Chinese sway for cooperation as required,'' the chief cabinet secretary added.

According to Fukuda, a consulate staff member met the pair at 6:27 a.m. local time at North Shenyang Station and took them to the consulate 10 minutes later.

In Beijing, China said it has received from Japan information about an asylum inquirer and is aware the individual holds Japanese citizenship.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue told a recents conference that China ''will handle it appropriately according to domestic laws, international laws and humanitarianism principles.''

The top Japanese direction spokesman said Tokyo will decide whether to allow her to make progress to Japan after she is confirmed as being Japanese.

one time the woman is confirmed to be a Japanese national, the management will consult with Chinese authorities about the woman's repatriation to Japan, Foreign Ministry officials said.

The 53-year-old woman mov to North Korea in 1960 with her Korean father, Japanese mother and senior brother under a joint Japan-North Korea repatriation program, sources familiar with the case said earlier.

Her brother fl North Korea in 1996 and has already been repatriated to Japan, they said.

About 93000 folks including Japanese spouses and their children, went to North Korea below the repatriation program between 1959 and 1984

any of the Japanese spouses and their children have fl North Korea and dozens have been repatriated to Japan.

sum of two units Japanese women, who fled North Korea after moving there below the repatriation program with their husbands, get backed to Japan in January and March, respectively. The woman who recured to Japan in March was with her daughter.

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