Only 63 North Korean defectors entered South Korea throughout all of 2021, Seoul’s unification ministry announced on Thursday, the fewest ever recorded in a calendar year and a dramatic decline from over 1,000 defectors annually prior to the pandemic.
A ministry official explained that the precipitous decrease in the number of North Koreans defecting to South Korea is likely the result of the DPRK’s extreme COVID-19 border controls, as well as travel restrictions in so-called transit countries.
The 2021 figure represents a 72.4% drop from the 229 North Koreans who defected to the South in 2020 and a 94% decline from
Only 63 North Korean defectors entered South Korea throughout all of 2021, Seoul’s unification ministry announced on Thursday, the fewest ever recorded in a calendar year and a dramatic decline from over 1,000 defectors annually prior to the pandemic.
A ministry official explained that the precipitous decrease in the number of North Koreans defecting to South Korea is likely the result of the DPRK’s extreme COVID-19 border controls, as well as travel restrictions in so-called transit countries.
Jeongmin Kim is a Lead Correspondent at NK News, based in Seoul. Kim covers inter-Korean and DPRK-related foreign, defense and humanitarian affairs, and has covered the 2022 ROK Presidential election on the ground. Prior to joining NK News, she worked for the CSIS Korea Chair in Washington D.C. and Reuters news agency's Seoul bureau. Follow her on Twitter @jeongminnkim