China, ROK to Reconcile "Korean Drug Dealer Shin Ok-Doo" StormChinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan Sunday evening talked with ROK Foreign Minister Han Seung-soo in Brunei to seek the way to reconcile the storm resulted from ROK official's groundless protest that China had executed ROK man convicted of drug trafficking without giving prior notification to the ROK Government.Shin Ok-Doo, Korean man, and other three partners were arrested in China in 1997. They were on charge of making and smuggling drugs into the ROK. Recently, the ROK media made many untruthful and critical reports on Shin Ok-Doo's execution in China. Kim Kyungkeun, ROK official, said at a news briefing that a close investigation by his government shows that China's Supreme People's Court of Heilongjiang Province did inform the ROK Embassy in Beijing of the time and venue of Shin's first instance of trial by fax on January 11,1999, one week before the court session was opened. However, the fax documents were only clipped in a ring binder without any receiving record. ROK FM Han Seung-soo made a public apology for this issue. The ROK is expected to announce specific name list and ways for punishment when its foreign minister Han Seung-soo returns to ROK next Wednesday after he accompanies President Kim Dae-jung on the ASEAN Head Summit in Brunei. Chinese FM Tang Jiaxuan said that a thorough talk between the foreign ministers of the two countries will help avoid diplomatic disturbance and influence on the normal development of the bilateral relationship. However, both the two countries should draw a lesion from this issue. Any problem will be settled through further negotiation and mutual circular. Tang added that China and ROK have a very good cooperation. There is a great potentiality especially in the cooperation in agricultural industry of the two countries. By PD Online Staff Du Minghua |
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