A group of eight or nine North Koreans entered the Danish embassy in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi this morning and asked for political asylum. A spokesman for the Danish foreign ministry says Denmark is working with the Vietnamese authorities to find a solution for the refugees. He said they would not be repatriated.

Two years ago, four North Korean nationals entered the Danish embassy in Hanoi; they later received asylum in South Korea. Many others have fled via other embassies in Vietnam or other countries.

South Korea's Unification Ministry says 16,000 people have defected to the South since 1953, most of them over the past ten years. Most of the refugees travel via China and run the risk of being jailed and repatriated by the authorities in Beijing.

Danish embassy in Hanoi
Photo from Danish embassy (www.ambhanoi.um.dk)