More than 6 out of 10 North Korean defectors perceived themselves as lower-class citizens last year as they feel a sense of relative poverty compared with other South Koreans, a survey showed Wednesday.

On the perceived social status, 61.4 percent of 2,444 North Korean defectors aged over 15 said they view themselves as being underprivileged in South Korea, according to the poll by Seoul's unification ministry and its affiliate Korea Hana Foundation.

The survey conducted in 2015 also showed that 35.8 percent of the surveyed said they are middle class, followed by a mere 1 percent for the upper class.

North Koreans have defected to South Korea in search of freedom, but many defectors are facing difficulty in assimilating in the South due to persistent prejudice.

As of end-March, the number of North Koreans who defected to the South came in at more than 29,000, with some 1,280 people arriving in the South last year.

The poll showed that 51 percent of those checked said they were middle class when they were in the North, followed by 43.1 percent saying they were lower class. Of the total, only 4.4 percent said they were upper class.

The results indicated that a larger number of North Korean resettlers are feeling a sense of relative poverty after moving to South Korea, experts say.

But the poll showed that 60.4 percent of the respondents voiced hopes that their children will be better off in the South.

The average monthly income of the defectors reached 1.55 million won ($1,370) last year, up 5.1 percent from a year earlier, it said.

In the cited period, the corresponding data for South Koreans amounted to 2.3 million won, according to Seoul's statistics agency.

North Korean defectors with permanent jobs accounted for 60.5 percent of the total in 2015, up from 54.1 percent the previous year.

The poll showed that 63 percent of the respondents expressed satisfaction with the living conditions in South Korea, while 3.4 percent said they were discontent. (Yonhap)