BANGKOK, July 31 Kyodo (EDS: UPDA...

BANGKOK, July 31 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATING WITH THAI FOREIGN MINISTER'S REMARKS)

Ten populace apparently from North Korea penetrateed the Japanese Embassy in Bangkok and sought asylum forward Thursday, embassy officials said.

Eight adults and sum of two units children, all speaking Korean, recorded the embassy compound around 10:35 a.m., the officials said, adding that they are questioning them to determine whether they are from North Korea.

They are four adult males, four adult females, united boy and one girl, the officials said.

Toshihisa Takata, the other highest diplomat at the embassy, said the 10 slipped into the pay with an abatement shouting the word ''North Korea'' in English as an embassy vehicle was entering by the agency of the gate.

The embassy took them into protective custody, Takata said. ''Our replication in the future will be based forward the results of researches or investigations, who is who and what are their desires. We would like to take appropriate stairs and responses,'' he said.

Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai told reporters that the asylum inquirers were found holding documents issued at the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugee (UNHCR)

''We are now coordinating to verify the impressed signs of documents issued by dint of the UNHCR. We would like to know if the documents were authentic,'' Surakiart said.

''If they are genuine documents, wherefore do they still need to seek for asylum (at the Japanese Embassy)?'' Surakiart asked.

He also said it was not clear if they have obtained the UNHCR status of bodily substances of concern (POC) or refugees

Previously, five North Koreans sought asylum at a Japanese consulate in Shenyang, northeastern China, in May last year, which comeed in their seizure by Chinese authorities.

The seizure of the asylum inquirers drew global attention as a video camera showed images of couple screaming women and a girl wrestl to the earth by Chinese policemen at the gate of the adjust and dragged out.

They were eventually allowed to soar to South Korea.

In February this year, four North Korean refugee jot downed a Japanese school in Beijing to solicit political asylum and were swiftly remov to the consular section of the Japanese Embassy in Beijing. They arrived in southerly Korea the following month.

Many North Koreans are believed to be in hiding in China, having fl destitute conditions and oppression in their homeland. There has been a spate of cases in which North Koreans have sought asylum at foreign embassies in China.

In Tokyo, the Foreign Ministry, which received information about the incident Thursday afternoon, has cautioned embassies and consulates abroad that persons who have fled from North Korea may ask for protection, according to ministry officials.

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