Last year, the number of North Korean citizens who fled to South Korea tripled compared to 2022. The South Korean Ministry of Unification revealed in a statement that there were 196 deserters from Kim Jong Un's regime.
More than 80% of all people who fled were women. The statement also reveals that there was a trend in defections of so-called "North Korean elites," which comprise of diplomats and students with more economic possibilities than the rest of the population:
We have confirmed that attrition among the elite class last year was the highest in recent years.
Number of defectors increases
The figure shows an increase in the number of citizens who fled the repressive dictatorship of North Korea after years of decline due in part to the pandemic, when the dictatorship closed its borders with China and Russia with the excuse of reducing infections, thereby imposing more restrictions to prevent people from leaving.
Only 67 North Koreans arrived in South Korea in 2022. A year before (2021), 63 people left. This last figure shows a decrease of more than 90% compared to 2019, when 1,047 citizens fled North Korea.
