South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party has launched a special committee to support the roughly 34,000 North Korean defectors living in the country amid a declining number of defections since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The party’s Special Committee on North Korean Defectors held its inaugural meeting in Seoul on Tuesday with a goal of working with experts to produce legislation on behalf of defectors.

“Policies for North Korean defectors must go beyond simple initial resettlement assistance and develop into a comprehensive support system that spans the entire course of life, including education, employment, housing, health care and efforts to improve public awareness,”