11.   China has sought to discourage further asylum bids by stringing barbed wire atop embassy walls and posting additional guards, some armed with baseball bats.

12.   China said Thursday that a fifth person has taken refuge in the South Korean Embassy in Beijing amid a spate of asylum bids by North Koreans.

13.   China has stepped up security around the office in hopes of discouraging future asylum bids.

14.   China has tried to discourage further asylum bids by surrounding foreign missions with barbed wire and posting extra guards.

15.   Colombian authorities said they were waiting for Avril to submit a formal asylum bid in a letter before they would consider his request.

16.   He has been in hiding since his return from a failed asylum bid in Panama, and he is rumored to be protected by his military allies.

17.   He said his organization helped organize asylum bids by North Koreans in Beijing in the past few months.

18.   However, it has been reluctant to do so when asylum bids became publicly known for fear of international criticism.

19.   His whereabouts have been unknown since he returned to Peru in October after a failed asylum bid in Panama.

20.   Meanwhile, his security forces are continuing a weeks-old manhunt for Montesinos, who went into hiding following a failed asylum bid in Panama.