S Korean and Chinese foreign ministers to meet in Seoul

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S Korean and Chinese foreign ministers to meet in Seoul

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Talks are under way to hold a meeting between Foreign Minister Kim Sung-Hwan and China's Yang Jiech.

22 February,2012 12:38 pm

The South Korean and Chinese foreign ministers plan to meet in Seoul soon, an official said Wednesday, amid a dispute between the two countries over Beijings treatment of North Korean refugees.Discussions are under way to hold a meeting between Foreign Minister Kim Sung-Hwan and Chinas Yang Jiechi in Seoul, a foreign ministry spokesman told AFP without elaborating.Yonhap news agency said they would meet on March 2, with key agenda items including the North Koreans recently arrested in China and facing repatriation.Seouls foreign ministry, legislators and activists are urging Beijing not to send them back to their homeland. Activists say returnees face severe punishment or even the death sentence.China Tuesday reiterated its stance that the fugitives from the North are illegal economic migrants. Rights groups insist they are refugees who deserve protection.The ministers will also discuss the agenda for a summit between the two nations leaders on the sidelines of a nuclear security summit in Seoul from March 26-27, Yonhap said.South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak Wednesday called on China to handle the detained refugees in line with international norms. Seoul says it will seek UN support to try to prevent them being sent back.