Japan-China spat deepens

A Chinese military police officer checks identification cards of a group of Chinese people in Beijing's embassy district

TOKYO, Japan -- A diplomatic row over the controversial arrest of five North Korean asylum seekers has deepened in Beijing, after Tokyo contradicted China's version of events.

The incident at Japan's consulate in the northeastern town of Shenyang, in which five North Koreans were dragged from the compound, was caught on videotape last week.

China says Japanese diplomats gave police permission to enter the compound to seize the asylum seekers.

But in a report out on Monday, Japanese officials said consent was not given and considered the incident a violation of its sovereign territory.

The spat comes as a raft of talks take place on what to do with asylum-seekers taking refuge at Western consulates in China.

AUDIO Flurry of asylum-seeking continues in China. CNN's Jaime FlorCruz reports. 1.02MB / 1min. 37sec. WAV sound   GALLERY Police thwart the attempt for asylum     CNN.com Asia More news from our Asia edition

Diplomats are deciding the fate of five North Koreans who slipped into the U.S. and Canadian consulates last week, the latest round of asylum seekers trying to flee their communist homeland via China.

The rash of defections has put Beijing in a tough position, forcing it to choose between an obligation to its impoverished communist ally North Korea to repatriate escapees, or risk damaging its international image.

Hand them over

The incident has sparked outrage in Japan -- not only against China, but over the foreign ministry's handling of the affair.

Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi admitted Japanese diplomats had been less than perfect in their handling of last week's incident at the consulate in Shenyang.

But she denied reports that consular staff gave permission to police to enter the consulate and seize two asylum seekers after dragging three away from just inside the gate.

"Agreement was not given," she told a news conference after the release of a report by officials sent by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to investigate the affair, which has frayed Sino-Japanese ties and fuelled criticism of the elite ministry.

Asked about the possibility that the five North Koreans seized from the Japanese consulate might be sent to a third country, Kawaguchi repeated Tokyo's demand that they be handed over.

"Needless to say, what is most important is that their human rights be respected," she added.

Tokyo has demanded that Beijing apologize, release the detainees and promise that such intrusions won't happen again.

China has rejected the Japanese complaint, saying it was protecting the consulate.

Analysts have said one way out of the standoff would be for the five people to be sent to a third country, either South Korea or possibly the United States.

Dragging

Police detain one of the North Koreans trying to enter the Japanese consulate in Shenyang

Japan and China have exchanged increasingly angry words since the incident, particularly after Japanese television aired dramatic video of police dragging two screaming women and a child from the consulate compound.

While Koizumi said he had instructed Kawaguchi to conduct the investigation "calmly but firmly," he added the incident would not damage relations between the two Asian giants, which this year are celebrating the 30th anniversary of the normalization of ties.

"Our friendly ties remain unchanged," he said. Koizumi also said he had no intention of firing the foreign minister.

The vivid video, in which one Japanese diplomat picked up and returned the hats of the Chinese guards who grappled with the women just outside the gate, triggered outrage with the foreign ministry, already under fire for a series of scandals.

Kawaguchi said a senior Japanese diplomat in Beijing had told those on the spot not to escalate the extremely tense situation.

The incident, which follows a spate of successful bids by North Koreans seeking asylum, highlights China's refusal to recognize as refugees tens of thousands of North Koreans hiding along its border with its long-time communist ally.

China views them as illegal immigrants and often sends back those that get caught.

But it has relented in several cases of North Koreans who have made it into diplomatic missions, allowing them passage abroad.

More than two dozen who barged past guards and climbed walls to get into embassies in Beijing in the past two months went on to South Korea.