Eight North Korean Defectors Enter Japanese School in Beijing

Eight North Korean defectors entered the Japanese School in the Qiaoyang district at 03:40 (local time), January 24, and requested asylum in South Korea.

The defectors were made up of seven women, including a pair of sisters ages nine and 11, and one man in his twenties. The refugees set up a steel ladder against a wall and entered the school by passing through barbed wire. The defectors have stated that aid was given by their families already established in South Korea.

Notified by the school, the Japanese embassy announced the fact to the Chinese government, and is in the process of identifying them after having moved them three hours after their entry.

The Japanese school set up an alarm system on the wall last December due to the recent break-in of the refugees, and the school guards notified of the alarm struggled briefly with the intruders.

Yoo-Seong Hwang yshwang@donga.com