A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said Friday the ministry is paying a great deal of attention to the case of Liu Qiang in South Korea and hopes the Korean side can impartially and properly handle it.

The Seoul High Court is to determine whether Liu should be extradited to Japan for possible legal proceedings there for setting fire to the Yasukuni Shrine in Japan in December.

Liu was arrested in South Korea for throwing Molotov cocktails at the Japanese embassy in Seoul.  The Japanese government has asked for his extradition after he set fire to the Yasukuni Shrine to express his hatred to Japan. Liu's grandmother is a Korean who was a comfort woman for the Japanese army.

The Chinese Embassy in Seoul sent consular officials to attend the court session and offered necessary assistance such as recommending lawyers, said the spokesman Hong Lei.

Xinhua