Refugees storm Beijing embassy

The intruders wore hard-hats and took home-made ladders

A group of 44 people, thought to be North Koreans, have stormed the Canadian embassy in Beijing in an apparent attempt to gain asylum.

An embassy spokesman said the group included men, women and children and had scaled a 3m-high wall to get in.

China treats North Koreans as illegal immigrants and deports them home.

But increasing numbers have entered foreign embassies and consulates in China in recent years, hoping to secure passage to South Korea.

A police officer on traffic duty near the embassy said the refugees had used home-made ladders to scale the wall of the compound.

He said some of the group - which included men, women and children - were wearing hard-hats, apparently to disguise themselves as construction workers.

Escaping North Korea Risking life for freedom

They are also reported to have taken quilts with them, to protect against the sharp spikes on the top of the wall.

"All were successful except for one man, who was taken away by police," the officer told the Associated Press news agency.

The Canadian ambassador to Beijing said his staff were still trying to find out where the intruders had come from.

"We are in the process of speaking to them to determine who they are and what they expect of us," Ambassador Joseph Caron told the Associated Press.

But he added: "It would appear there were some North Koreans in the group."

Common occurrence

This is one of the largest groups ever to burst into a diplomatic compound in the Chinese capital.

"If there are up to 40 people, it usually means that it was organised and quite often in these kind of cases some non-governmental organisations are involved," an East Asian diplomat told the French news agency AFP.

But this is far from an isolated incident. In a similar case earlier this month, a group of 29 North Koreans entered a Japanese school in Beijing to demand asylum.

More than 460 North Korean refugees were airlifted to South Korea in July from Vietnam, in an action which enraged Pyongyang.

Mr Caron also said that two groups of North Koreans had entered the Canadian embassy two years ago. At least two of them were eventually taken to South Korea.

But seeking asylum at foreign embassies in China remains a risky strategy for North Koreans, according to the BBC's correspondent in Beijing, Louisa Lim.

As Pyongyang's closest traditional ally, Beijing is loath to take any steps which might destabilise its neighbour or lead to waves of asylum seekers pouring over the border.

So China deports any North Koreans it catches back to their homeland.

It has also thrown heavy security around embassies to try to deter such asylum attempts.

But despite the risks, many North Koreans are still prepared to take the chance, and activists estimate that about 200,000 are currently hiding out in China.