All 12 North Korean restaurant workers who defected to South Korea last April from China are said to have entered college.
 
A government official said last Sunday that the North Korean women are said to have received special admission into universities this year.
 
The official said that the defectors, most of whom are in their early or mid-20s, chose to go to college after coming to the conclusion that in order to fit in South Korea’s society a college degree is essential.
 
The North continues to claim that the escapees, who had worked at a North Korean restaurant in China, were abducted by the South and are demanding their repatriation.
 
The 12 workers defected to South Korea along with a male manager last April.
 
They settled in South Korea in August after undergoing four months of investigation by related agencies. In an unprecedented move, the group did not undergo a 12-week adjustment training program for North Korean defectors operated by Hanawon, the main North Korean refugee support center.

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