Nearly two months after fleeing his impoverished homeland, Lee Dong-soo could see the light at the end of the tunnel. Guided by Christian activists, he had traveled thousands of miles overland across China to a rented house in Bangkok. There he waited for a safe passage to South Korea and the promise of a new citizenship.

But on Aug. 22, Thai police, tipped off by neighbors, raided the house and arrested 175 North Koreans living there. Two days later, a Thai court sentenced 136 of the detainees, including Mr. Lee – a pseudonym – to 30 days in jail for illegal entry into Thailand.

In China, detention often spells disaster for North Koreans, who are deported home to face the consequences. But arrest in Thailand didn't snuff out Lee's dreams of exile. Instead, he's weighing the option of making a new life not in South Korea, his original goal, but in the US, which also offers asylum to North Korean refugees. "I think we can enjoy freedom in the US," he says. "I hear it's a more developed country."

That dream is luring more North Koreans to Bangkok, putting a strain on Thailand's pattern of tolerance and quiet cooperation. Last month's raid pushed the total number of North Koreans detained so far this year above 400, up from 80 in 2005, raising concerns about a surge in arrivals.

Thailand is already home to large populations of displaced minorities from neighbors Laos and Burma, and Thai government officials are wary of becoming a magnet for more refugees who arrive via those countries.

Activists say the flow is unlikely to stop, as many North Koreans already in China are looking for a safe haven.

"They come to Thailand because it's one of only a few countries where they can seek asylum.... Thailand is probably the best country to go right now," says Chun Ki-won, a South Korean missionary who was jailed in China in 2001 for his work. He estimates that between 150 and 200 more North Koreans are hiding in Thailand, awaiting resettlement.

Under the 2004 North Korean Human Rights Act, the US offers fast-track processing for asylum seekers, though only a handful have so far been accepted. Mr. Chun says that 30 more applicants who fled to Southeast Asia prior to the recent arrests in Bangkok are pending. Since the 1990s, more than 8,000 North Koreans have resettled in South Korea, and US officials say that country will remain the destination of choice for most refugees.

Critics say the Human Rights Act is toothless, as it depends on refugees reaching a safe haven like Thailand.

"In order for the act to be really effective, US diplomatic missions in a number of countries must be flexible and creative in the way that they offer sanctuary to refugees," says Tim Peters, a US evangelical pastor who runs Helping Hands Korea, a charity based in Seoul.

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