Five North Koreans enter Indonesia embassy in Hanoi

JAKARTA, Aug 21 (Reuters) Five North Koreans entered the Indonesian embassy in Vietnam today, carrying a piece of paper saying they wanted to go to ''free countries'', an Indonesian foreign ministry official said.

Four women and one man scaled the fence of the embassy, said foreign ministry spokesman Desra Percaya.

''We don't know what their intention is but they carried a piece of paper saying 'We want to go to free countries from North Korea','' Percaya said.

He said the Indonesian embassy has contacted Vietnamese authorities and were seeking a translator for the North Koreans.

A number of North Koreans have taken refuge in European and Asian embassies in Hanoi in recent years to seek permanent asylum in South Korea.

Last month four North Koreans climbed a fence into the Danish embassy in Hanoi seeking asylum in South Korea.

Human rights workers say North Korean refugees often slip into China, then travel overland to Southeast Asia hoping to eventually to reach South Korea.

Vietnam tries to maintain good ties with both Koreas. South Korea is an important investor and Vietnam sends food aid to North Korea.

In 2004, an airlift by Seoul of 468 North Koreans from Vietnam infuriated Pyongyang. Six months later, South Korea announced it would never attempt a large-scale refugee rescue again.

Reuters LPB GC1735