According to Yonhap:
A total of 360 North Koreans fled their home and arrived in South Korea in the first quarter of this year, registering a slight increase from a year earlier, the unification ministry said Tuesday.
According to the data compiled by the ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, 153 North Koreans settled in the South in January, 111 in February and 96 in March.
The figure for the quarter was slightly higher than the 319 entrants for the same period in 2013 and the 352 people in 2012, the data showed.
“The 2014 tally was slightly higher than that of the previous two years, but it remains to be seen until the end of this year if it indicates any significant changes,” a ministry official said.
Last year, a total of 1,516 North Koreans settled in the South, up slightly from 2012 when 1,502 people crossed the border, according to ministry data. South Korea is now home to 26,124 North Koreans.
Here is additional data provided by the Choson Ilbo:
From 2006 until 2012, the annual figure stood between 2,500 and 3,000, but it fell to an annual average of about 1,500 when North Korean leader Kim Jong-un took power.
A ministry official said that the number has dropped because the regime has cracked down on defections. “It has tightened border security and is bringing defectors back to the country,” the official added.
Last year, defectors on average earned W1.41 million (US$1=W1,024) in South Korea, just 64 percent of the country’s average pay of W2.18 million. Unemployment among defectors stood at 9.7 percent, more than three times the average of 2.7 percent.
The Daily NK also reports the numbers.
Read the full stories here:
360 N. Korean defectors arrive in South in Q1
Yonhap
2014-4-8
Fewer N.Korean Defectors Reaching South
Choson Ilbo
2014-5-8
