SEOUL, May 8 (Yonhap) -- A total of 366 North Korean defectors arrived in South Korea in the first three months of this year, down sharply from 566 in the same period last year, the Unification Ministry said Tuesday.

   The North Koreans are composed of 119 men and 247 women, according to the ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs.

   Rights activists said the number of new arrivals decreased as the defection of North Koreans has become more difficult due to crackdowns on defectors and increased costs in illegally crossing the border into China.

   Many North Korean defectors in the South claim that they bribed North Korean guards to flee across the border into China.

   South Korea is home to more than 23,500 North Korean defectors as a constant stream of North Koreans has fled their communist homeland to try to avoid chronic food shortages and harsh political oppression.

   entropy@yna.co.kr
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