A group of 44 North Korean asylum seekers used makeshift ladders to scale the fence and leap into the Canadian embassy in Beijing on Wednesday, officials said. Hundreds of asylum seekers from reclusive North Korea have broken into foreign embassies and consulates in China since 2002, hoping to secure passage to wealthier South Korea, but usually in smaller groups. "We do understand that the majority are North Korean," said Canadian foreign ministry spokeswoman Kimberly Phillips, adding that some members of the group were still being questioned. "We have no reason to believe there are other nationalities (involved)," added Phillips, who is based in Ottawa. She said the group included 7 children. Some of the intruders appeared to have masqueraded as construction workers, an embassy spokesman said, most likely to get near the embassy without alarming security guards on duty nearby.
