In a move orchestrated by NGOs, 25 North Korean refugees, forced their way past guards to take refuge in the Spanish embassy. The refugees have demanded to be allowed to go to South Korea. There are already some 250,000 North Korean refugees in China, where the government periodically rounds up these refugees and sends them back. There are millions of ethnic Koreans just across the 1,300 kilometer long  border, so many North Korean refugees have a fighting chance of staying out of sight. The refugees risk their lives getting across the heavily guarded (on the North Korean side) border.