Bid for asylum in China
Sunday, January 23, 2005 Posted: 9:51 PM EST (0251 GMT)
(CNN) -- Eight people, believed to be North Koreans, are in Japan's embassy compound in Beijing, seeking asylum.
An
embassy spokeswoman told CNN on Monday the group is made up of five
women, two girls and one man, and their nationalities are being checked.
The
eight first entered a Japanese school and were then given shelter at
Tokyo's embassy compound. The embassy says it has notified Chinese
authorities about the incident.
Sixteen North Koreans are already in Japan's Beijing embassy from previous incidents.
Many
North Korean refugees have sought asylum in embassies and diplomatic
compounds in Beijing, hoping to secure passage to another nation to
flee starvation and repression in their communist nation.
In the
largest recent asylum bid, 44 North Koreans scaled the wall around the
Canadian Embassy in Beijing in late September, and were later allowed
to leave for a third nation.
As many as half a million North Korean refugees may be hiding in China, aid workers have estimated.
While China quietly lets high-profile cases go to South Korea through third countries, Beijing also sends many back home.
Last year, 1,285 North Korean passed through China, up from 1,140 in 2002.
CNN Beijing correspondent Tara Duffy contributed to this report
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Associated Press contributed to this report.
