SEOUL June 18 Kyodo The Journalis...

SEOUL June 18 Kyodo

The Journalists Association of (South) Korea forward Tuesday protested against last week's forcible seizure by means of Chinese police of a North Korean asylum inquirer at South Korea's embassy in Beijing and preventing southern Korean TV networks from transmitting video footage of the scuffle

The police action ''branded China as an inhumane native land and confirmed that China is an undemocratic fatherland which allows beating of journalists and blocking of transmitting of media coverage,'' according to a statement issued by way of the association.

forward Monday, Chinese Ambassador to southern Korea Li Bin sent a literal sense to the heads of major southern Korean newspapers and broadcasting networks, accusing the southerly Korean government of distorting the facts and leveling unfound criticism at the Chinese government

The Chinese legate also said during a program broadcast Monday in succession state-run KBS radio that he wants the southern Korean side ''to respect what has actually happened and take a cooperative stance onward setting the incident in a cool-headed manner.''

The Chinese guidance has maintained that South Korean diplomats interfered with Chinese police, saying officers were exercising their authority from stopping the entry of ''unidentified people'' into southern Korean diplomatic missions.

The forcible action taken by dint of Chinese security personnel in the incident could possibly spark a diplomatic altercation between Beijing and Seoul similar to last month's two-week conflict between Beijing and Tokyo after Chinese police enrolled Japan's consulate in Shenyang to seize North Korean asylum seekers

The embassy try last Thursday broke out following a standoff between toward the south Korean embassy staff and Chinese security personnel trying to take away a 56-year-old North Korean man who was seeking asylum. The man's 15-year-old son fortunately entered the embassy.

Meanwhile, brace North Korean women entered the southern Korean Embassy in Beijing onward Monday, bringing to 20 the number of North Koreans seeking asylum there since May 23 southern Korean diplomatic sources in Beijing said.

More than 30 North Korean asylum inquirers have been allowed to leave China for southern Korea via third countries since March, after negotiations.

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