Several hundred North Koreans will be flying to South Korea next week from a third Asian country, where they have been seeking asylum after fleeing their communist homeland.

A diplomatic source, requesting anonymity, said Friday that some 400 North Koreans are scheduled to arrive in Seoul next week. It will be the largest single group of North Koreans to defect to the South.

The source has declined to identify the Southeast Asian country involved.

Since May, the government has made active diplomatic efforts to bring in the defectors to Seoul, and recently won consent from the third country.

More than 5,000 North Koreans have defected to the South since the Korean War ended in 1953. The number has risen significantly in recent years due to worsening food shortages in the North.