A federation of Korean American associations says that a total of 95 North Korean defectors have so far taken shelter in the United States.

The California-based federation said that among that number, 40 live in Los Angeles, 20 in New York, 8 in Washington and the rest in other cities.

Most of the defectors reportedly came to the United States via South Korea.

In the past year, twenty defectors have sought asylum in the United States. Three of them have applied for refugee status but the U.S. government has yet to accept them.

Meanwhile, over a dozen North Koreans were known to have been deported after their applications for refugee status were rejected by U.S. authorities.