The total number of North Korean escapees who received asylum in the United States reached 23 in 2012, up by seven from the year before, a news report said Thursday.

Washington-based Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported that there was a trickle of North Korean nationals who won legal refugee status in the U.S. with numbers peaking at five and six in June and July, respectively.

The total is a gain from 16 people accepted by Washington for the whole of 2011 and 17 in 2010, but it is still a small number despite the passage of the 2004 North Korea Human Rights Act. The law helps provide humanitarian assistance to people living inside North Korea and offers legal assistance to North Korean nationals who have fled the communist country.

RFA said that 149 North Koreans have been given asylum in the United States in the last eight years.

It pointed out that on average Washington accepts 15,000-20,000 refugees from east Asian countries annually with about 80 percent coming from Myanmar.

The media outlet said a help group has been set up in Virginia to help North Koreans settle in the U.S. (Yonhap News)