BLAINE, WA. - Police and immigration officials say they're witnessing a dramatic increase in the number of South Koreans trying to enter the United States illegally through B.C. border crossings.

Vancouver airport has expelled 700 Korean illegal migrants in 18 months.

The recent arrival of two boatloads of Chinese migrants off B.C.'s coast has prompted an intense debate about whether Canada's immigration laws are too lax.

Yet Canadian officials say Chinese boatpeople make up just a small fraction of those trying to abuse the system.

Other nationalities, they say, have a much easier time getting here -- and use equally sophisticated smuggling operations to get in.

At Vancouver International Airport, South Korea is No. 1 on the list of nationalities of illegal migrants. They make the move because of poor economic conditions at home.

South Korean nationals don't require a visa to enter Canada and can take advantage of relatively cheap flights.

Nine direct flights from Seoul touch down each week in Vancouver. Many on board are hoping theirs will be a one-way trip, says Paula Bennet, manager for citizenship and immigration at the airport.

In the last 18 months, her staff has expelled almost 700 South Koreans -- all suspected of coming to Canada hoping to be smuggled into the United States.

Canadian officials expect the number of South Koreans using Canada as a springboard to the States will continue to rise.

That means more work for Carey James of the U.S. border patrol in Blaine, Wash., just south of Vancouver.

In a single week this spring, James's staff arrested 25 South Koreans trying to sneak across the border.