The 25 North Koreans who took refuge in the Spanish embassy compound in Beijing, in a dramatic asylum move, left China yesterday for Manila en route to South Korea.
The refugees were taken to Beijing airport in a convoy of four vehicles after a deal was struck to resolve the fate of the six families and two orphaned girls. They are expected to continue to Seoul today.
In the second major defection bid involving North Koreans in a year, the group stormed into the embassy on Thursday threatening to commit suicide unless they were granted asylum.
A Philippine official acknowledged yesterday that allowing the group to use Manila as a transit point will antagonise North Korea. "But we are doing it for humanitarian reasons," he stressed.
In keeping with Seoul's long-standing policy of accepting asylum-seekers from the North,South Korea said it would accept the 25 people once it verified they wanted to enter the state .
The case was referred to by the Chinese Premier, Mr Zhu Rongji, during his press conference at the close of the annual two-week session of the National People's Congress. He said the case would be "resolved very quickly".
The asylum-seekers had escaped North Korea before, but were forced back by Chinese officials. They threatened suicide if they were returned to their famine- stricken homeland again, the Tokyo-based Life Funds for North Korean Refugees said.
China has refused consistently to recognise as refugees tens of thousands of North Koreans hiding on its north-eastern borders with the Stalinist state, which has endured years of drought, floods and fierce winters.
Beijing is torn between its communist ally North Korea, its key economic partner South Korea and the UN, which has said such migrants merit refugee status.
The US said yesterday the North Koreans should not have to go back to their country. There was no comment from North Korea.
South Korean aid groups say that between 150,000 and 300,000 North Koreans are scattered in the hills of north-east China.
The refugees were said to be in good health but were concerned that they would be sent back to their home country. A spokesman for the group said they faced certain torture from the Pyongyang authorities if they did not receive a safe haven elsewhere.