Asylum seeker break-in at Beijing embassy

The asylum seeker targeted the German Embassy in Beijing in his bid for safe passage

BEIJING, China (CNN) -- Under the cover of darkness, a North Korean scaled the concrete wall of the German Embassy in Beijing to seek safe passage to South Korea, diplomatic sources have said.

The man, believed to be about 30 and apparently in good health, made his bid on Thursday night.

German diplomats have been interviewing the man and are consulting with Chinese foreign ministry officials to seek a quick and quiet solution.

The break-in replays a similar incident last month, when 25 North Koreans dashed into the Spanish embassy in Beijing and demanded political asylum.

They were later allowed to go to South Korea via the Philippines -- a face-saving way out for China, who did not wish to hand them directly to Seoul for fear of offending political allies in Pyongyang.

Like the 25 asylum-seekers, the man in the German embassy is believed to have been living as a refugee in China for some time.

China regards North Koreans fleeing from poverty and famine as economic migrants, not refugees, and typically sends them back.

Beijing officials said they allowed North Koreans safe passage to a third country out of humanitarian considerations.

Privately, however, officials fear such leniency may prompt a wave of mass defections.

Fleeing

Aid groups say some 100,000 to 300,000 North Koreans have fled into northeastern China in recent years to escape famine and political persecution.

Norbert Vollersen, a German medical doctor, has been leading a group of "international volunteers" assisting these refugees.

"More Korean refugees are on their way, also to third countries," he gushes, but even Vollersen seems unaware of the latest attempt.

He explains: "Because the refugees' situation is so desperate, more and more will take any risk and do it even on their own -- without any coordination -- so this happened in this case and we do not have any background information about him yet."

Vollersen said his group had direct telephone contact with activists in Tumen, near the China-North Korea border as late as Wednesday.

"Because of the Chinese crackdown on the refugees, there is no more chance for a whole group to escape, so we encourage them to try it in single actions," Vollersen says.

Why target the German Embassy? "Because we want to repeat history, like in the East Germany and the embassy in Praha (Prague)."

Beijing seems determined to stop mass defections and Chinese police have tightened security around embassy compounds, doubling their presence of guards and providing them with long wooden clubs.

And security agents have been combing northeastern towns bordering North Korea to round up escapees for repatriation.