South Korea decided not to permit a visit by the Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader, out of concern it could soil diplomatic relations with China, a government source said Tuesday.
Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, recently applied for a South Korean visa to attend a meeting of Nobel Peace Prize laureates this month. He himself won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his nonviolent efforts to resolve the Tibetan conflict.
"I know the authorities have decided not to issue a visa to the Dalai Lama after reviewing South Korea-China relations and similar past cases," the source said, on condition of anonymity.
South Korea has rejected the highest Buddhist monk's attempts to visit the country several times at the request of China, which considers him as a separatist.
The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 after leading a failed uprising against the Chinese occupation of the Himalayan region.
China annexed Tibet in 1950.
He now lives in exile in Dharamsala in Northern India, frequently traveling abroad to publicize the plight of the Tibetan people. Seoul, May 23 (Yonhap News)
S. Korea expected to deny Dalai Lama visa |