Around 181 North Korean Defenders Enter South Korea Throughout This Year

North Korea has blown up roads and railroad tracks near the border. (Source: KCNA)

JAKARTA - At least 181 North Korean defectors have crossed into South Korea in the first nine months of 2024.

An Unification Ministry official said on Tuesday that the number had increased compared to the same period last year.

Of these, 76 of them - 12 men and 64 women - arrived in South Korea in the July-September period, bringing the total number of North Korean defectors to 34,259 people, the official said without naming.

"(The number of defectors in the third quarter) was slightly higher than the same period last year and the second quarter of this year. However, given the quarterly fluctuations and various factors, we need to closely monitor the number of arrivals for this year," the official explained., reported from The Korea Times October 23.

North Korea's number of defectors coming to South Korea has increased after a drastic decline in recent years as it was largely due to Pyongyang's strict border lockdown to curb the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tensions between the two Koreas have risen in recent times, with the issue of distributing leaflets, provocations of loudspeakers at the border, to sending garbage balloons by North Korea. The two countries also blame each other for the entry of drones into their respective regions.

Last week, North Korea blew up roads and railroads near the border between the two countries. South Korea's Unification Ministry denounced the move as a clear violation of the inter-Korean agreement.

The ministry regrets repeating North Korea's "regressive" actions, citing North Korea's unilateral action in 2020 that blew up a joint liaison office in North Korea's border town, Kaesong.