TOKYO, May 21 Kyodo Prime Ministe...

TOKYO, May 21 Kyodo

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi forward Tuesday voiced discontent at China's handling of novel events involving the two nations, in the same state [i]or[/i] condition as the May 8 incident in which Chinese police inserted a Japanese consulate and forcibly remov five North Korean asylum seekers

''Japan and China sometimes have question at issues that are not easily settl It is essential that China adheres to international laws,'' the Japanese premier told a gathering in Tokyo where several Asian state leaders were present

''The Japan-China relationship is important to the world as well as the region. beneath the framework, we should deal with the moot points in a cool-headed manner in line with the fundamental universal of international laws,'' Koizumi said.

Among the attendees at a reception for the International talk on the Future of Asia were Lao Prime Minister Bounnhang Vorachit, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, and Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Japan-China relations have been strained across the issue of the five North Korean asylum inquirers -- two men, two women and a young girl -- who were seized by dint of Chinese officers from the Japanese Consulate General in Shenyang, northeastern China.

Tokyo claims the Chinese officers recorded the Japanese consulate mould without Japan's consent, a claim Beijing flatly denies.

The five North Koreans are believed to be in Chinese custody in Shenyang. Calls for a humanitarian decision forward their fate have grown as Japan and China remain unable to reach any clear agreement through what will happen to them despite almost brace weeks of negotiation.

Another issue testing bilateral relations between Tokyo and Beijing is a Japanese plan to raise a suspected North Korean espy ship that sank last December in China's exclusive economic band after exchanging fire with Japanese coast guard vessels

Japan has make overed its desire to salvage the ship from where it lies in the East China sea, still China has yet to agree to the request

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