38 N. Korean defectors enter S. Korea in Q1: unification ministry
Vice Unification Minister Kim Soo-kyung, third from right, visits a child care center for children of North Korean defectors on Jan. 23, in this file photo provided by the unification ministry. Yonhap
A total of 38 North Korean defectors entered South Korea for resettlement in the first quarter of this year, slightly down from 43 during the same period last year, the unification ministry said Thursday.
The latest entries brought the total number of North Korean defectors who came to South Korea to 34,352, the ministry said. Of the first-quarter total, only one individual was male, with the rest being female.
More than half of those who came to South Korea in the first quarter were in their 20s or 30s, continuing the trend of younger people arriving in the South in search of a new life.
Most of the North Korean defectors first smuggle themselves into a foreign country and stay there for an extended period before seeking asylum in South Korea or elsewhere due to tighter inter-Korean border controls and security reasons.