Three North Korean men are holed up in the American Consulate in Shenyang, China, after scaling the wall there. The New York Times reports from Beijing that the men want asylum in America as political refugees. A Times news article reports that “the request for asylum in the United States pushes the Americans to take an explicit stand on a politically loaded question.” The dispatch goes on to explain that “If the United States directly granted the North Koreans political asylum, it would not only put new pressure on its already delicate relationship with China, but it would also almost certainly scuttle the Bush administration’s current exploration of ways to restart a dialogue with North Korea.”

Sounds to us like at least two good reasons for America to move immediately to grant these refugees the asylum they deserve. The Washington Post, in an editorial Sunday, suggested that the American response should be to press Communist China to allow the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees to manage the refugee “problem.” But why rely on the U.N. or the Chinese Communists to serve the role that America has served since the Pilgrims arrived — as a refuge for those seeking freedom? No doubt these North Korean refugees, like the Pilgrims and the Vietnamese boat people and all those in between, would, if allowed the chance, become patriotic and productive Americans. In that sense these refugees are, for America, not a “problem” but an opportunity.