North Korean refugees arrive in Seoul

Some of the 25 North Korean asylum seekers wave on their arrival at Incheon international airport outside Seoul

MANILA, Philippines -- A group of 25 North Korean asylum seekers have arrived in South Korea from the Philippines to begin their new life, capping a dramatic dash to freedom that began four days ago in China.

The group, who spent three days resting at a military base, flew out of Manila Monday aboard a Boeing 777 jet, arriving at Seoul's Incheon International Airport at 1620 local time (0820 GMT).

The fit-looking North Koreans waved and smiled for South Korean television cameras after they cleared immigration.

"We want to settle down here and live in freedom and hope," said Lee Song, a 43-year-old factory worker, at a televised impromptu news conference.

"Because South Korea is a free country, I came here even though this could have cost my life," said another man.

Their departure from Manila marked the final leg of a daring journey, which began last Thursday when they stormed past guards at the Spanish embassy in Beijing, asking to be allowed to go to South Korea and vowing suicide if they were sent back home.

The six families and two orphaned girls, the largest North Korean mass defection since the end of the Korean War, were flown from Beijing to the Philippines where they were kept under close observation during their brief stay in Manila, for their own security, Philippine and South Korea officials told Reuters.

Beijing's dilemma

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The embassy incident put Chinese authorities in a diplomatic bind because under an agreement with North Korea, Beijing is obliged to return any refugees caught trying to flee the secretive Stalinist state.

On Friday, a deal was struck and the asylum seekers where whisked from the compound in four vehicles and taken to Beijing airport for the trip to the Philippines.

On previous occasions China has sent North Korean asylum seekers back across the border prompting complaints by human rights and aid groups who say returnees often receive harsh treatment at the hands of the authorities.

The plight of North Koreans in China was thrown into the spotlight in June last year when a family of seven walked into the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees in Beijing and demanded political asylum.

After several days of delicate talks, China let the family go to South Korea via Singapore and the Philippines on humanitarian grounds, avoiding a standoff and bad press just before a vote on Beijing's bid to host the 2008 Olympics.

Tough line

The aslyum seekers celebrate after rushing past the guards

Supporters of the asylum seekers say tens of thousands of North Koreans are hiding in China's northeast.

Fearing an influx of potential refugees, Beijing has taken a firm stance on such illegal migrants in the past, saying they are economic migrants and should be sent back home.

The group of 25 North Koreans had threatened suicide if they were sent back to the Stalinist state, which has suffered years of drought, floods and fierce winters.

There was no indication why the refugees chose the Spanish Embassy, but the compound's front gate is usually left open, in contrast to more heavily guarded embassies.

South Korean aid groups say that between 150,000 and 300,000 North Koreans are scattered in the hills of northeast China.