The proportion of North Korean defectors here who are female has steadily risen in recent years, topping 80 percent for the first time this year, government data showed Sunday, pointing to lighter surveillance of women than men amid a perceived tightening of overall border controls.
Of the 535 people who fled the North between January and May this year, 444 were women, accounting for nearly 83 percent, according to statistics from the Unification Ministry.
The figures marked the highest portion of women yet, though they were tentatively compiled while Seoul’s background checks continue on the newcomers and may fluctuate toward the end of the year, the ministry noted.
Albeit with slight swings, the annual ratios have hovered in their 70s since 2006, reaching 73.1 percent in 2012, 75.6 percent in 2013 and 78.2 percent in 2014.
“The proportion of women stood at about 7 percent before 1989 but has since showed an upward drift, amounting to 35 percent in 1997 and 42 percent in 2000, and in 2002 exceeded that of men,” the ministry said on its official website.
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