The number of North Koreans fleeing to the South reached 1,086 during the January-September period, with women refugees accounting for 783 of them, according to the ministry.
By the year's end, the total number of new North Korean refugees is expected to hit 1,440 for 2012, the first annual figure below the 2,000 level in seven years.
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The annual number of North Korean refugees coming to the South reached only several hundred before the year 2000, but it first exceeded the 1,000 level the next year under the Kim Dae-jung administration, known widely for its engagement policy toward the communist North.
Since then, the annual number steadily grew to hit the 2,000 level in 2006 and stayed in the upper range of the 2,000 level for the next five years till last year, according to the ministry data.
The yearly number stood at 2,553 for 2007, 2,804 for 2008, 2,914 for 2009, 2,401 for 2010 and 2,706 for 2011.
The estimated 2012 figure is on par with the level registered in 2005 when the number of North refugees reached 1,382.
This year's decrease is mainly attributable to the North's tightened grip on the areas bordering China, the main defection route, government officials said.
The death of leader Kim Jong-il last December has affected the country's political stability, causing the communist country to tighten its border control, they said. China's internationally-denounced repatriation of North Korean refugees back to the oppressive country has also resulted in both China and the North strengthening their border security, they also noted.
The 2012 decrease also reflects more North Korean refugees deciding to settle down in China rather than in the South, experts said.
The total number of North Korean defectors who had settled in the South stood at 24,193 as of the end of September, according to the ministry handling inter-Korean issues.
pbr@yna.co.kr
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