A total of 196 North Korean escapees reached South Korea in 2023, more than three times the previous year but still far below annual pre-pandemic numbers.

In a press release on Thursday, Seoul’s Ministry of Unification said there was a considerable number of “elite” defectors among those who resettled in the South, including “diplomats, overseas residents and international students.”

But the ministry did not detail the exact number of “elite” defectors nor the foreign missions where the diplomats formerly worked, citing safety concerns.

The final total for 2023 marks a sharp uptick from just 67 defectorsin 2022 and a