A total of 20 North Koreans who defected to the South have migrated to other countries over the past five years, the Ministry of Unification said Monday.

The living conditions of North Korean defectors here have drawn keen attention, especially since a defector who fled the North in late 2020 reportedly crossed the heavily-fortified inter-Korean border again earlier this month to return home.

"The number of North Korean defectors who have emigrated over the recent five years (from 2016-20) totals 20, " the ministry's spokesperson Lee Jong-joo told reporters.

As of September last year, some 33,800 North Korean defectors had entered the South, according to the ministry. (Yonhap)