North Korean ‘seeks asylum at S Korean consulate in Hong Kong’

A North Korean defector is reported to have sought asylum at the South Korean consulate in Hong Kong.

Full details are unclear, but the South China Morning Post reported that he is believed to have come to Hong Kong to take part in an academic competition two weeks ago.
Police patrols around the area have been boosted and security stepped up.

China, which has authority over Hong Kong's diplomatic issues, has reportedly been notified.

A police spokeswomen told BBC Chinese they were aware of the reports but declined to comment further.

However, she confirmed that there were police officers on guard outside the entrance and that journalists would be stopped from filming.

South Korea's foreign ministry also declined to comment, with an official saying the government's position was not to make any comments related to defectors from Pyongyang.

Local media suggests the Hong Kong government is keen to avoid a similar outcome of a saga in 2013 where US whistle-blower Edward Snowden hid in a Hong Kong hotel before flying to Russia for temporary asylum.

Under Hong Kong's Basic Law, the constitutional document of the territory, China has authority over diplomatic issues.

China usually sends back North Koreans found entering its territory illegally. South Korea usually takes in and rehabilitates North Koreans who escape.

South Korea's Unification Ministry's website says more than 29,000 North Koreans have defected to the South since the end of the Korean War.

In April, 13 North Koreans working at an overseas restaurant defected to South Korea, the first mass escape from one single location. A second group reportedly defected in May.

There were also reports in April that a senior North Korean official had defected.