At least 20 North Koreans have rushed onto the grounds of the Spanish Embassy in Beijing in a bid to seek asylum in South Korea. 

Witnesses say the North Koreans -- men, women and children -- pushed their way past Chinese guards and ran through the front gate of the Spanish embassy early Thursday. 

The Associated Press says people outside the embassy who helped the asylum seekers distributed a statement requesting that they be sent to South Korea. It says some members of the group are carrying poison to use to commit suicide if Chinese authorities decide to send them back to North Korea. 

The statement described the group as six families and three individuals totaling 25 people, but reporters counted only 20. 

Chinese security forces have been deployed outside the embassy to control a crowd of bystanders. No further information is immediately available. 

The actions by the North Koreans followed a recent unsuccessful asylum attempt by Cubans who had invaded the Mexican Embassy in Havana, but were later evicted and arrested by Cuban authorities. 

Another group of Cubans seeking political asylum in Spain are still at Madrid's International airport, while authorities decide their cases. 

Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP. 

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