The number of North Koreans who have defected to the South since the division of the Korean nation has exceeded five thousand.

With the number of North Korean defectors increasing annually, Seoul faces the pressing task of seeking ways to deal with the defections, including July's mass-arrival of 460 North Koreans.

According to a report issued Monday by the National Assembly's Unification, Foreign Affairs and Trade Committee, more than four thousand-100 North Koreans had arrived in South Korea as of the end of last year.

The number of North Korean asylum seekers totaled only about six hundred up until 1989, but the number has steadily gone up since then to reach nearly one thousand-300 last year.

As of August this year, almost 14 hundred North Koreans sought asylum in the South, raising the total number of defections to more than five thousand-500.

Since 1996, Seoul has provided a total of 76 billion won to help the North Korean defectors resettle in the South.