HONOLULU -- Japan is indulging in righteous indignation over the incident involving North Koreans who tried to take refuge in the Japanese consulate in Shenyang, China, earlier this month. Targets of the mounting fury include the Chinese police, the consular staff and, by extension, the entire Japanese Foreign Ministry. The passions aroused by this episode must not be allowed to overshadow the real issue: the fate of tens, perhaps hundreds, of thousands of North Koreans in China who are desperate to escape the hunger, poverty and tyranny of their home country. They are the real victims and, ironically, the international attention they have won may only make their situation worse.

The key facts in the incident are pretty clear. Five North Koreans entered the Japanese consulate in Shenyang seeking refuge and eventual passage to a third country, reportedly the United States. Three of the refugees, two women and a small child, were seized by Chinese police inside the gate of the compound, and dragged kicking and screaming from the premises. Two men reached the visa application section of the consulate, where they sat for 10 minutes before being forcibly removed by Chinese police.

Japan claims that the unauthorized entry of the police onto the consulate grounds violates the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Affairs. The Chinese government says the individuals were removed to protect the consulate "under the specter of the international fight against terrorism." It also claims that Japanese officials agreed to have the North Koreans taken away, an allegation that Tokyo denies.