Number of North Korean defectors entering South Korea more than triples in Jan.-Sept. 2023 period

After escaping the North, 139 North Koreans reached the South in the January-September 2023 period, sharply up from 42 from the same period 2022, according to Seoul’s unification ministry. In the third quarter, 40 defectors ― three men and 37 women ― came to the South.

The tally is the latest reminder that a steady stream of North Koreans continues to defect to South Korea to avoid chronic food shortages and harsh political oppression.