South Korea will consider offering 24-hour child care support services to North Korean defectors and increasing education support for their children born in third countries, Seoul’s unification ministry announced on Tuesday.

The plans are part of South Korea’s “Fourth Basic Plan for Supporting the Resettlement of North Korean Defectors,” a policy document outlining how the ROK will support its defector population between 2024 and 2026. 

Many defectors arrive in the South without family members to help with raising children, so providing 24-hour child care support services would help escapees “balance childcare and economic activities,” according to the ministry.

The Fourth