Another group of North Korean defectors have fled a Pyongyang-run restaurant in China, seeking asylum in South Korea, Seoul's Unification Ministry announced Tuesday.
Just last month 13 North Koreans, working for a North owned restaurant in China, escaped to South Korea. South Korean leaders say the workers came of their own free will, while the North claims they were essentially kidnapped by spies who tricked them into defecting.
North Korea runs approximately 130 restaurants overseas, most of which are in China, according to a report by the South's spy service released earlier this year. The National Intelligence Service indicates that North Korea has between 50,000 and 60,000 workers abroad, mostly to bring in foreign currency.