A total of 1516 North Koreans sought refuge in South Korea last year, bringing the total number of defectors living in the South to 26,124, 69% of whom are female.
According to statistics compiled by the Ministry of Unification, annual defector numbers topped the 2000 mark in 2006. This trend continued until 2012 when the intake dropped sharply to 1502.
A high-ranking defector explained to Daily NK, “Controls strengthened at the onset of the Kim Jong Eun era, and it became more difficult to cross the (Sino-North Korean) border. Punishment (for such crimes) grew stricter, too. It also seems that the North’s practice of presenting people with distorted facts by holding lectures and press conferences with ‘re-defectors’ have played a part.”
“It’s known that more people are now entering the South after spending several years living in China, rather than coming directly (from North Korea). The number of those risking their lives to get out in order to make a living seems to be diminishing. This appears to be the result of more stringent border control and comparative, albeit minor, improvements in the economic situation,” the defector concluded.
