China investigating reports of hundreds of suspicious parcels sent to South Korea
- Seoul says more than 2,100 mysterious packages have been received, some of which may have contained hazardous materials
- China’s foreign ministry says incidents which began last Thursday, are being ‘looked into’
Beijing is investigating South Korean reports of international parcels being sent randomly from China, some of which may have contained unknown hazardous materials.
“We have received South Korea’s request for assistance in the investigation. The matter is being looked into. We will stay in touch with South Korea,” said Mao Ning, a spokeswoman at China’s foreign ministry, during a press conference on Monday.
Seoul said on Tuesday that police had received a total of 2,793 reports from across the country of suspicious international parcels. Investigations into 679 cases showed no connections to the terrorism, and no toxic or hazardous substances had been discovered.
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“We have confirmed that there are no suspicions of terrorism, as there were no terrorism threats, related intelligence, or casualties,” the South Korean prime minister’s office said, adding that a joint investigation will take place with Interpol and other overseas agencies.
Authorities received the first report of a suspicious parcel on Thursday from a care centre for the disabled in the southeastern city of Ulsan. Three workers at the facility were hospitalised with dizziness and breathing difficulties after opening a package.
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An invoice on the parcel indicated it had been sent from Taiwan. But after an investigation by Taiwan’s customs agency, the Taipei mission in South Korea said the parcel had originated from Shenzhen in southern China, and arrived in South Korea via Taiwan.