Eleven North Korean defectors escaped to South Korea between January and March of this year.
 
The disclosure by the unification ministry came on Friday, reporting that two men and nine women have arrived in South Korea since the beginning of the year. The figure is down from 31 recorded during the same period last year.

North Korean defectors typically enter South Korea from an intermediate country such as China or those in Southeast Asia.

The notable decrease this year is likely due to the regime's border closures and movement restrictions related to the pandemic.

Those who recently made it to South Korea are believed to have fled the North before the North Korea-China border shut down.

Last year saw a total of 63 defectors arrived in the South, 40 of whom were men and 23 of whom were women.

According to the unification ministry, the number has been declining since peaking at two-thousand-914 in 2009. After recording one-thousand-47 in 2019, the figure plunged to 229 in 2020 with the onset of COVID-19.