South Korea and China agreed to sign a pact on consular...

South Korea and China agreed to sign a pact on consular affairs obliging both sides to give immediate notification when authorities arrest each other's citizens on criminal charges.
Working-level officials from the two countries met to discuss the signing of the proposed agreement, which is meant to prevent the recurrence of such incidents as the recent consular gaffe in connection with the execution of a South Korean drug trafficker. The two countries will also be required to allow inmates who are from the neighbouring country to contact consular officials and lawyers.
South Korea and China have no bilateral agreement on consular relations other than the multilateral Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.
China's execution of a Korean drug trafficker in September triggered a diplomatic row between the two nations after the Seoul government protested Beijing's failure to give immediate notification of his execution in violation of the Vienna treaty.