BEIJING (Reuters) - China confirmed on Thursday it had detained a Korean-American missionary on charges of raping children and helping North Korean asylum seekers sneak into China.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told reporters Joseph Choi was detained on May 12 in China's northeastern province of Jilin, which borders North Korea.
Liu said China notified the U.S. consulate of Choi's detention in the northeastern city of Shenyang on May 15 and that a U.S. consul had visited Choi two days later.
Liu gave no details of the charges against Choi.
A U.S. embassy spokesman declined to comment, but said consular officials had been in contact with an American citizen detained in the northeast in May. The spokesman said he could not give further details because of the federal privacy act.
"The Chinese side hopes the U.S. side will educate its citizens in China to abide by Chinese laws and to not conduct in illegal activities," Liu told a news conference.
A South Korean missionary colleague said last month Choi was not involved in refugee smuggling.
The colleague at the time accused the Chinese government of trumping up charges in an effort to show that they were cracking down on people helping North Koreans get into China.
China has allowed 38 North Koreans who defected at foreign diplomatic missions to travel to South Korea via third countries.
Twenty more North Koreans have sneaked into the South Korean and Canadian embassies over the past three weeks.
Human rights activists and diplomats have warned of further and more daring asylum bids, including during soccer's World Cup, being hosted this month by South Korea and Japan.
But they say China has begun to crack down on non-governmental organizations aiding the tens of thousands of North Koreans hiding out in northeastern China.