China executes one more S. Korean drug offender

China executed another South Korean drug offender Thursday, one day after two South Koreans were executed in the country for smuggling and trading drugs, a government source said.

A district court in Qingdao, Shandong Province, ordered the execution of the South Korean criminal surnamed Jang for smuggling a large amount of methamphetamine into the country and selling it there, according to the source.

Jang was arrested in 2009 for trafficking 11.9 kilograms of methamphetamine and China's highest court recently upheld two lower courts' death sentence for him, he said.

The execution came one day after two South Korean drug dealers were executed in China's Jilin Province for drug offenses.

The latest actions mark China's first executions of South Koreans since a South Korean national was executed in 2004 for committing murder. Another South Korean was executed in 2001 after being convicted of drug crimes. 

Producing or trading more than 1 kilogram of opium or 50 grams of methamphetamine or heroin is subject to heavy punishment in China.

South Korea's foreign ministry expressed "deep regret" following the Wednesday execution, saying the government had repeatedly pleaded for humanitarian consideration for the criminals. (Yonhap)