North Korean defections to South fall 35% in first half amid tighter border controls

A total of 63 North Korean defectors arrived in South Korea for resettlement in the first half of 2026, down 34.4 percent from a year earlier, as Pyongyang's tightened border controls continued to make escapes increasingly difficult, the Unification Ministry said Thursday. The figure included 59 women and four men, bringing the cumulative number of North Korean defectors living in South Korea to 34,600. During the same period last year, 96 defectors arrived in the South. According to a ministry