The United States will keep its door open for North Korean people wanting to flee oppression in their homeland.

Washington's special envoy for North Korean human rights, Jay Lefkowitz, said in an interview with Radio Free Asia that Washington is looking to help facilitate the passage of North Korean refugees to freedom.

His remarks come as the South Korean government is trying to bring in a group of North Korean escapees who were arrested in Thailand earlier this week for illegally entering the Southeastern Asian country. Their departure was delayed on Thursday due to safety concerns.

Since the Korean War ended in 1953, about 5,000 North Koreans have fled to the South. More than 100,000 others are also believed to be living in hiding in China, waiting for a chance to travel to the South.

North Korea and its main ally China have been cracking down on escapees in China since a family of 17 North Koreans defected to the South in December, 1996.

China is supposed to repatriate North Korean defectors to their homeland under a 1986 agreement.

Lefkowitz said the US is very hopeful that the Chinese government will honor its commitment under international law regarding the treatment of the North Korean refugees.