The Unification Ministry said Wednesday the number of South Korean people who visited North Korea in the first half of this year registered 4,150, up 43.7 percent from a year ago.
On the other hand, only 145 North Koreans, including the third group involved in family reunions and a delegation to pay respects to the late Hyundai Group founder Chung Ju-yung, visited South Korea during the same period.
Inter-Korean trade exchanges increased 18.8 percent during the first five months from a year before.
However, "pure" trade exchanges, in which aid and materials for the construction of light water reactors in the North were excluded, marked a 21.9 percent decline during the same period.