Just 11 North Korean defectors arrived in South Korea in the first quarter of 2022, as COVID-19 border controls continue to prevent escapees from reaching the South.

South Korea’s unification ministry released the figures on Friday, noting that nine of the defectors were women and two men.

Sokeel Park, South Korean country director for the nonprofit Liberty in North Korea (LINK), told NK News the small numbers were not a surprise.

“It’s as expected with all of the ongoing extreme pandemic restrictions in North Korea and China, but still concerning at a time that the lives of North Koreans and