Norbert Vollertsen, a German doctor who once lived in North Korea and was among those from Europe and elsewhere who organized the asylum bid, said 25 North Koreans were inside the embassy.
He promised more such actions in the future, with a growing number of North Koreans each time, and likened it to the flood of Eastern Europeans who sought asylum in Western embassies before the Iron Curtain collapsed.
"They can't stop 25 people and they will not stop for sure 150 people," Vollertsen said.
Most of the North Koreans were carrying rat poison and all "told me they would be executed if they are sent back," Vollertsen said. Their statement also said they would commit suicide if repatriated.
They chose the Spanish Embassy because it was less heavily guarded than the German Embassy, their original target, Vollertsen said.
Minutes after the North Koreans rushed in, dozens of armed Chinese guards converged on the compound, which under diplomatic law is Spanish territory they cannot enter without permission. A group of Spanish diplomats emerged, talked to some of the guards, then went back inside.
Life Funds for North Korean Refugees, a Tokyo-based organization that assisted the group, said the group included members of six families and three individuals. It listed names, ages and hometowns but said many were pseudonyms to protect "loved ones who remain in North Korea."
The asylum seekers ranged in age from 10 to 52, according to the news release. Some, including a farmer, a former policeman and two orphaned 16-year-old girls, also issued individual statements translated into English.
One man, who said he was giving his correct full name, Choi Byong-sop, wrote that he was 52 and a former coal miner and one-time member of the North Korean Workers Party, the ruling party.
He said he fled to China in 1997 with his wife and three children but was caught and returned to North Korea, where guards beat and tortured him.
As a former party member, he wrote, "I would be very strictly persecuted and most likely executed if I am caught again. However, I am willing to risk my life for freedom in South Korea."
He added: "We want to live a decent life in freedom in South Korea. My first son wants to become a Christian missionary. My daughter wants to be trained to be a pianist. My last son wants to be a soccer player in South Korea."
For many, this was at least the second attempt to use China to gain freedom, the group statement said. It said some had been caught by Chinese security officials before and returned to North Korea for "months of detention ... that can only be described as atrocious."
Last June, a family of seven North Korean asylum seekers sought refuge in a Beijing U.N. office. After four days, they were allowed to leave for South Korea via a circuitous route that took them through Singapore and the Philippines.