China demands NK free crew of fishing boat
By Yang Jian |
May 20, 2013, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
China is urging North Korea to release a Chinese fishing boat and its crew reported to have been held since May 5.
Counsellor Jiang Yaxian of the Chinese Embassy in North Korea told Xinhua news agency yesterday that Yu Xuejun, the boat's owner, called the embassy for help on May 10 and it had immediately contacted the North Korean side.
The Chinese Embassy promptly made representations to the Bureau of Consular Affairs of North Korea's Foreign Ministry, asking Pyongyang to release the boat and the fishermen as soon as possible, said Jiang.
The embassy urged the North Korean side to fully ensure the Chinese crew's personal and property safety as well as their legitimate rights and interests, he said.
"We will continue efforts to ensure that the issue will be properly addressed at an early date," Jiang said.
Yu said the boat, from Dalian in northeast China's Liaoning Province, had been hijacked by armed North Koreans and that he'd received a call demanding a ransom of 600,000 yuan (US$98,000).
Yu said the boat was sailing in Chinese waters around 70 kilometers from North Korea's west coast when it was seized.
"They jumped onto the boat and ordered the sailors via an interpreter," Yu said.
He was later contacted by the kidnappers and told to pay the ransom by noon yesterday or they would "confiscate the boat and discharge the crew," Yu told the Southern Metropolis Daily yesterday.
"The supplies on the boat should have run out by now, so I am quite worried about them," he added.
Contact with the fishing boat, No. 25222, was lost on May 5 and Yu asked its pair fishing boat to look for it at around 11pm.
But its captain told Yu that the vessel had been taken away by a North Korean patrol boat.
Yu said he later received the phone call demanding a ransom. The caller claimed the boat had been confiscated because it had entered North Korean territory.
1.2 million yuan
"They initially demanded 1.2 million yuan to give back the boat and that changed to 800,000 yuan and finally to 600,000 yuan after being refused," Yu said.
Yu was not certain of the kidnappers' identity, but told reporters he suspected they were associated with the North Korean army.
Yu said he believed the 16 crew, aged between 21 and 46, were in good health because he had been in contact with them as recently as Saturday, but added he was "worried that the North Koreans could abuse our sailors."
He had reported the incident to local police, he said, and later posted details of the hijacking on the Internet to ask for further help.
The incident comes a year after the return of 29 fishermen kidnapped by North Koreans who had demanded a 1.2 million yuan ransom.
The fishermen were returned without a ransom being paid, according to Xinhua news agency, after China's foreign ministry contacted North Korea.
Counsellor Jiang Yaxian of the Chinese Embassy in North Korea told Xinhua news agency yesterday that Yu Xuejun, the boat's owner, called the embassy for help on May 10 and it had immediately contacted the North Korean side.
The Chinese Embassy promptly made representations to the Bureau of Consular Affairs of North Korea's Foreign Ministry, asking Pyongyang to release the boat and the fishermen as soon as possible, said Jiang.
The embassy urged the North Korean side to fully ensure the Chinese crew's personal and property safety as well as their legitimate rights and interests, he said.
"We will continue efforts to ensure that the issue will be properly addressed at an early date," Jiang said.
Yu said the boat, from Dalian in northeast China's Liaoning Province, had been hijacked by armed North Koreans and that he'd received a call demanding a ransom of 600,000 yuan (US$98,000).
Yu said the boat was sailing in Chinese waters around 70 kilometers from North Korea's west coast when it was seized.
"They jumped onto the boat and ordered the sailors via an interpreter," Yu said.
He was later contacted by the kidnappers and told to pay the ransom by noon yesterday or they would "confiscate the boat and discharge the crew," Yu told the Southern Metropolis Daily yesterday.
"The supplies on the boat should have run out by now, so I am quite worried about them," he added.
Contact with the fishing boat, No. 25222, was lost on May 5 and Yu asked its pair fishing boat to look for it at around 11pm.
But its captain told Yu that the vessel had been taken away by a North Korean patrol boat.
Yu said he later received the phone call demanding a ransom. The caller claimed the boat had been confiscated because it had entered North Korean territory.
1.2 million yuan
"They initially demanded 1.2 million yuan to give back the boat and that changed to 800,000 yuan and finally to 600,000 yuan after being refused," Yu said.
Yu was not certain of the kidnappers' identity, but told reporters he suspected they were associated with the North Korean army.
Yu said he believed the 16 crew, aged between 21 and 46, were in good health because he had been in contact with them as recently as Saturday, but added he was "worried that the North Koreans could abuse our sailors."
He had reported the incident to local police, he said, and later posted details of the hijacking on the Internet to ask for further help.
The incident comes a year after the return of 29 fishermen kidnapped by North Koreans who had demanded a 1.2 million yuan ransom.
The fishermen were returned without a ransom being paid, according to Xinhua news agency, after China's foreign ministry contacted North Korea.
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