China denies deal with Japan over asylum-seekers

China denied on Wednesday reports it had reached a deal with Japan to release five North Korean asylum seekers dragged out of a Japanese con...

China denied on Wednesday reports it had reached a deal with Japan to release five North Korean asylum seekers dragged out of a Japanese consulate by Chinese police.

The official Xinhua news agency quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan as saying there had been no agreement to send the five who had tried to enter the consulate in the city of Shenyang (north eastern China) to a third country as soon as possible. ‘‘There is absolutely no such consensus,’’ it quoted Kong as saying.

He urged Japan to respect the results of a Chinese investigation into the incident and to stop ‘‘groundless’’ accusations against China, it said. China would handle the issue ‘‘according to international and domestic laws, while taking humanitarian reasons into consideration,’’ Kong said.

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Earlier in the day, Japan had urged a quick resolution as media reported that the five asylum seekers dragged would be released and sent to a third country.

Japan’s Kyodo news agency said the deal was reached in talks held in Tokyo between China’s ambassador and a Japanese vice Foreign minister. Officials stopped short of confirming the report.

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