 Finnish police used tear gas to evict two North Korean diplomatic couriers from a train after they refused to show their tickets or identify themselves. Police briefly held the two after they failed to cooperate with a ticket inspector on the Moscow-Helsinki train this month, said the Foreign Ministry's deputy chief of protocol, Tiina Myllyntausta, on Monday. "They locked themselves in the compartment and refused to come out. They were diplomatic couriers, but according to the police they didn't identify themselves at all," she said.
| Then they weren't diplomatic couriers. They were "unidentified persons." |
They refused to show any tickets, passports or other documents, she said. Police informed the ministry they used tear gas to evict the men. The two were detained for a couple of hours at a police station in Kouvola, 130 km (80 miles) northeast of Helsinki, and released once they were identified as diplomatic couriers. They continued their journey to Helsinki on the next train and took a passenger ferry from Helsinki to Stockholm, where North Korea has an embassy. Finland has launched an investigation into the incident at North Korea's request. Finnish border guards, customs police and the railway company will provide information. |