China's government responded cautiously Monday to concern over the safety of Chinese fishermen seized along with their vessel by North Koreans this month, in the latest test of ties between the traditional allies.

朝鲜本月扣押中国渔民及渔船后，中国政府周一针对这些渔民的安全做出谨慎回应。这是中朝两个传统盟友之间关系面临的最新考验。

Details of the incident remain sketchy. The owner of the boat, Yu Xuejun, said the fishermen were captured May 6 while operating in Chinese territorial waters off China's northeast coast. Mr. Yu, in an interview, said Chinese authorities didn't respond to his request for help for more than week after he reported the incident to border and maritime police.

此事的详细情况仍不是很清楚。被扣中国渔船的船主于学君说，5月6日渔民们在中国东北沿海附近的中国海域作业时，遭朝鲜抓扣。于学君在接受采访时说，他向边境及海事警务部门报告此事一周多后，中国有关部门才对他的求助做出回应。

The case only gained attention over the weekend after Mr. Yu published details of the incident on a popular social-networking site.

于学君上周末在一个人气颇高的社交网站上发布了事件的细节后，此事才引发了关注。

It isn't clear who exactly in North Korea is holding the fishermen. Mr. Yu said the captors had demanded ransom of 600,000 yuan ($97,700) be paid by Monday evening. In a series of posts since Saturday to his account on Tencent Holdings Ltd.'s (TCEHY, 0700.HK) Weibo microblogging service, Mr. Yu pressed Chinese authorities to better protect Chinese fishermen.

不清楚究竟是朝鲜的什么人扣押了中国渔民。于学君说，抓扣渔民的人要求他在周一晚间前交出人民币60万元（合97,700美元）的赎金。自上周六以来在他腾讯微博上发布的一系列文章中，于学君敦促中国有关部门更好地保护中国渔民。

'We just hope the country is able to protect our rights and interests, and lessen the instances of Chinese boats being detained by North Korea in China's territorial waters,' Mr. Yu wrote.

于学君写道，我们只希望国家能够保护我们的权益，减少中国船只在中国海域被朝鲜扣押的事件的发生。

Impoverished North Korea is widely accused of engaging in a range of illicit activities to raise hard cash, including drug smuggling, currency counterfeiting and arms trafficking.

外界普遍指责贫困的朝鲜从事一系列违法活动来获得现金，包括走私毒品、制造假钞和走私武器。

At a daily press briefing Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said China is in close communication with Pyongyang, without offering details.

中国外交部发言人洪磊周一在例行记者会上说，中方与朝鲜方面保持密切沟通，但他没有透露具体情况。

China 'has called on North Korea to handle this matter in a speedy fashion and make all efforts to guarantee the legal rights of Chinese fishermen as well as their property and personal safety,' Mr. Hong said. A man who answered the phone at North Korea's embassy in Beijing declined to comment.

洪磊说，中方要求朝方尽快妥善处理，维护中方人员的生命财产安全与合法权益。朝鲜驻北京大使馆一位接听电话的男子不予置评。

In May 2012, 29 people on three ships were detained by North Koreans, who demanded 300,000 yuan for each of the boat's release. It also wasn't clear in those cases who was responsible for the seizures.

2012年5月，三艘中国船只上的29人被朝鲜扣押，朝鲜要求每艘船支付人民币30万元以换取船只获得释放。当时也不清楚抓扣中国船只的人是什么人。

The boats were eventually released nearly two weeks after they were captured. It isn't clear whether China's government agreed to pay ransom. Those cases received wide coverage in China's media and sparked online criticism of what many viewed as a tepid response from the Chinese government.

上述三艘船只在被扣近两周后最终获释。目前尚不清楚中国政府当时是否同意支付赎金。此类事件被中国媒体广泛报道，很多人认为中国政府对事件的反应不温不火，在网上引发了批评。

In a reflection of growing public frustration inside China with the country's problematic ally, Chinese social media users reacted angrily to news of the seizure.

中国社交媒体用户对中国渔船和渔民被朝鲜扣押一事做出了愤怒反应，这反映出中国国内民众对朝鲜这个中国“麻烦”盟友的日渐不满。

'Fatty Kim the Third eats Chinese grain, uses Chinese tools and now comes over to detain Chinese people,' wrote one user of Sina Corp.'s (SINA) popular Weibo microblogging service, using a nickname for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that has grown common on the Chinese Internet.

一位新浪微博用户写道：金三胖吃着我们中国的粮食，用着我们中国的工具，来抓我们中国的人。金三胖是中国网民对朝鲜领导人金正恩(Kim Jong Un)常用的昵称。

Internet users also directed their fury at Beijing for appearing reluctant to respond to the detention of the fishing crew, with some suggesting the seizures might be part of a conspiracy to funnel money to Pyongyang.

中国网民也将愤怒的情绪对准了北京。在前者看来，北京似乎不愿回应中国渔民被朝鲜扣押一事。有些人甚至暗示说，中国渔民被扣押可能是一种阴谋，有关方面企图通过这种做法将资金输送给平壤。

Some of the sharpest comments came from retired general Luo Yuan, a hard-line nationalist who was once a staunch defender of North Korea. 'Today I saw reports saying the Chinese embassy in North Korea has confirmed this really happened--it made me furious!' he wrote.

其中一则最严厉的评论来自退役少将罗援。罗援是一位强硬的民族主义者，曾经坚定地为朝鲜辩护。他在微博中写道：今天从媒体上得知中国驻朝鲜大使馆已证实确有其事，非常气愤！

'North Korea has gone too far. Just because you're poor, that doesn't mean you can cross borders and detain people for ransom. The North Korean side must, in accordance with the Chinese government's request, immediately release the boat and guarantee the lives, property, safety and legal rights of its crew. Otherwise, evil acts will be repaid!'

他说：朝鲜也欺人太甚，缺钱，也不能越界抓人、讹钱，朝方必须根据中国政府要求，尽快放船、放人和切实保障我被扣船员生命财产安全与合法权益，否则，恶有恶报！

The latest incident comes as tensions remain high on the Korean peninsula. North Korea has launched six missiles over the last three days, including two short-range missiles from its eastern coast into the sea on Monday, according to South Korea's defense ministry. Mr. Hong, China's foreign ministry spokesman, reiterated China's long-standing calls for tensions to be solved through negotiations.

这起最新事件发生之际，朝鲜半岛局势依然紧张。据韩国国防部透露，在过去三天中，朝鲜已经发射了六枚导弹，其中包括周一从朝鲜东部海岸发射入海的两枚短程导弹。中国外交部发言人洪磊重申了中国主张通过谈判化解紧张局势的一贯立场。

It remained unclear Monday night whether Beijing had made any progress in negotiating the release of the boat or its crew.

截至周一晚上，仍不清楚北京在要求朝鲜释放被扣中国渔船和渔民一事的谈判上是否取得了任何进展。