S. Korea looking into secret Chinese 'police stations'

SEOUL, Dec. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has begun looking into China's so-called clandestine police stations that are allegedly aimed at monitoring dissidents living overseas, police said Tuesday.

Police and military personnel as wells as officials from the foreign ministry have been mobilized to investigate the existence of "110 overseas police service stations," named after the Chinese police emergency telephone number, 110.

The Spain-based human rights watchdog Safeguard Defenders said that Beijing was operating 48 additional police stations, including in South Korea, since the group first revealed the existence of 54 such stations.

The watchdog claims the stations are intended to monitor and sometimes repatriate citizens living in exile, allowing the Chinese government to reach far beyond its borders.

The Chinese government has denied the allegations.

khj@yna.co.kr
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