Four asylum seekers from North Korea entered a Japanese school in Beijing on Tuesday, officials in Japan said, confirming earlier reports out of the Chinese capital.
It is not known if the people, who are being questioned by Japanese Embassy officials, are Japanese nationals or former Korean residents of Japan, said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda, the top government spokesman.
Whether Japan would accept them as refugees would “depend on the situation,” he told reporters.
A group that assists North Korean asylum seekers said four refugees from North Korea entered the school in Beijing to ask for asylum on Tuesday afternoon.
Chu Mi Yong, 43; her daughter Roh Yu Mi, 13, and son Roh Gwang Myoung, 10; and Kim Chol, 20, entered the school at 4:40 p.m., according to the Web site of the RENK group.
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