The Unification Ministry says some details of a recent media report that around 20 North Korean defectors entered South Korea via Thailand are not true. 

The ministry’s deputy spokesperson Kim Eun-han told reporters Friday that it's difficult to confirm specifics on the matter considering the safety of the escapees and diplomatic issues with related countries.  

A day earlier, a local media outlet quoted a government source as saying that roughly 20 North Korean defectors entered South Korea from Thailand aboard a Korean Air flight.  

The Unification Ministry posts quarterly statistics related to the entry of North Koreans to South Korea on its website. Between January and June of this year, a total of 546 North Koreans were estimated to have entered the country. Last year's total stood at one-thousand-137.