Thursday, September 03, 2009

Beijing denies North Korea seized US reporters in China

China on Thursday rejected claims by the two U.S. journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee that North Korean guards had crossed into Chinese territory to grab and drag them back into North Korea.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said the two were not grabbed in China. "As we understand from competent authorities, we did not find the situation as you described it," Jiang told a regular news conference.

After their capture, Lee and Ling were moved to a Pyongyang guesthouse and held there until they were pardoned after Clinton's trip.

China's general reticence about the two U.S. journalists' case reflects its close but brittle ties with North Korea.

No comments: