South Korea said on Thursday that the number of North Korean defectors tripled to 196 in 2023. The number of defections had dropped significantly from 2020 after North Korea sealed its borders, purportedly with shoot-on-sight orders, along the land border with China to prevent the spread of coronavirus.<br />''<br />''Tens of thousands of North Koreans have fled to South Korea since the peninsula was divided by war in the 1950s, with most going overland to neighbouring China first, then entering a third country such as Thailand before finally making it to the South Korea.<br />''<br />''<span style="color: #222222;">In 2019 1,047 defectors arrived but in 2022 just 67 people arrived South Korea. Unification Ministry of South Korea said last year, 196 defectors made it to South Korea, a figure that remains well below the pre-pandemic average. Women accounted for over 80% of people who fled North Korea last year. </span><br />