The number of North Koreans defecting to South Korea shrank nearly 10 percent in the first three months of 2013 from a year earlier, government data showed Thursday.

A total of 320 North Koreans defected from their home country and settled in the South during the January-March period, compared with 355 defectors in the same period last year, according to the data by the Ministry of Unification.

“The inflow of North Korean defectors tends to shrink during winter seasons, but the Q1 figure is even lower than the same quarter last year,” a ministry official said.

South Korea saw a total of 1,509 North Koreans defect to the country last year, only a little more than half of the 2,706 North Korean defectors who came to the South in 2011.

After first surpassing the 1,000 level in 2001, the annual number hovered around the 2,000 mark from 2006-2011. The figure peaked at 2,929 in 2009.

The ministry previously said tightened border security following the death of late leader Kim Jong-il may have led to the fall.

So far, a total of 24,934 North Koreans have defected from their home country and settled in the South in search of economic and political freedom. (Yonhap News)