The number of defectors has been steadily declining since 2012, soon after Kim came to power following his father's death, the news agency reported.
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According to the spokesman, who cited data of the country's Unification Ministry, while over 2,700 North Korean citizens have fled the country in 2011, just over 1,500 people reached South Korea from the north in 2012, the outlet added.
Park added that North Koreans might be discouraged from defecting from their country because of stricter border control on the North Korean-Chinese border and rising costs of hiring brokers, the news outlet reported.
Many North Koreans have been using China as a transit point on their way to South Korea.