Holed Up in Beijing

BEIJING: China, North Korea and South Korea maneuvered frantically Thursday to decide what to do now that Hwang Jang Yop, the highest-ranking official ever to defect from communist North Korea, has asked for asylum at the South Korean embassy in Beijing. His defection poses serious security problems for Pyongyang, since he knows plenty about the social, economic and political conditions in his close-mouthed country. As a member of Pyongyang's inner circle, he could shed much light on what is going on in the enigmatic nation, especially at the top. Even close associates from outside Korea are stunned by the defection and wonder why the 72 year old Hwang would leave. The Chosun Ilbo, a major South Korean national daily, said it had the answers in a handwritten statement from Hwang through a third party. "Today's North Korea has nothing to do with socialism," the newspaper quoted Hwang as saying. "How can a society in which people, workers, farmers and intellectuals are starving to death be a socialist society?" Pyongyang insists that Hwang must have been kidnapped by South Koreans, calling his defection "inconceivable and impossible." The North threatened unspecified retaliation if Hwang was kidnapped, prompting South Korea to put its entire 650,000-member military on higher alert. North Koreans in Beijing are not taking the news any better. When word got out Wednesday, the South Korean consulate was forced to tighten security after 10 North Koreans tried to force their way inside.