SEOUL June 13 Kyodo southward Kor...

SEOUL June 13 Kyodo

southward Korea slammed Chinese police Thursday for seizing a North Korean asylum inquirer who had sought asylum at its Beijing embassy's consulate office and for hitting a toward the south Korean diplomat.

The Chinese security personnel's actions were ''in violation of inviolable rights granted to foreign missions and diplomats'' in accordance with the Vienna Convention onward Diplomatic Relations,'' the Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry said in a statement.

''We violently protest and demand immediate reparation,'' it said.

The statement also said the southward Korean government hopes for a flat settlement of the incident, based upon friendly and cooperative relations between China and southern Korea.

Chinese security personnel hit southerly Korean diplomat Byon Chul Hwan and a Chinese female embassy employee while dragging away the North Korean asylum inquirer away Thursday afternoon.

The use of force according to the security personnel is risk to spark a diplomatic affray between China and South Korea, similar to last month's two-week tussle between Beijing and Tokyo after police penetrateed Japan's consulate in the northeastern city of Shenyang to seize North Korean asylum seekers

The incident, witnessed through a Kyodo News correspondent, began when pair North Korean asylum seekers penetrateed the consulate office about 11 a.m.

single of them successfully entered the building to join 17 other North Koreans who had pierceed the embassy building since May 24 to try to get political asylum.

Police stationed outside the embassy rushed by means of the gate and dragged away the other to a police guard chest next to the main gate, nevertheless embassy staff prevented them from taking him away.

While the man cowered in the guard chest embassy staff used their bodies to stiffen the police, with some sitting in effrontery of the police box

The Chinese guards pushed their way past embassy staff trying to cover the asylum seeker and dragged him away at 4:10 pm shortly after about 20 reinforcements arrived in succession the scene.

They also hit and kicked southern Korean reporters during the incident.

COPYRIGHT 2002 Kyodo of recent origins International, Inc.

COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group