South Korea Reports Large Decrease of North Korean Defectors in 2015

This year, the number of North Korean defectors entering into South Korea has decreased by 20 percent.

According to the most recent figures from the Ministry of Unification, as of November 2015 the current number of North Korean defectors entering South Korea in 2015 stood at 1,088 people. Last year the number stood at 1,397 defectors. In 2013, the number was even higher at 1,514 people.

Currently, there are a cumulative number of 28,607 defectors. Out of those, 26,514 currently live in South Korea. The Ministry reports that 70 percent of them are female, and 58 percent are in their twenties to thirties. Over 85 percent of them list their hometowns to be within Ryanggang Province and Hamgyong Province, two northern provinces in North Korea bordering China. 80 percent have less than the equivalent of a high school degree.

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