Two North Korean escapees reportedly entered the South Korean consulate in Vladivostok, Russia, and requested asylum in the United States on Tuesday.

Quoting Russian security officials on Friday, Japan’s Kyodo News said the two men were sent from the North to build facilities for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum that will open in Vladivostok in 2012. The report said that more workers could follow suit given that many North Koreans are working at construction sites nearby.

Kyodo said there has been a flurry of similar attempts by North Koreans in recent years in the Russian Far East. The report noted that two North Korean workers rushed into the consulate compounds in March seeking asylum in the United States and that 12 North Koreans defected to South Korea from Russia's Amur region last September.