Four North Koreans defect to South by sea

Four North Korean defectors have reportedly arrived in Sokcho, Gangwon, on Tuesday. A South Korean fishing boat spotted the boat they were on at 7 a.m.

A wooden boat that is believed to have carried four North Koreans who defected to South Korea on Tuesday is being towed by a Korea Coast Guard patrol boat near Yangyang County, Gangwon, on the same day. [YONHAP]

Four North Korean defectors have reportedly arrived in Sokcho, Gangwon, on Tuesday.

A South Korean fishing boat spotted the boat they were on at 7 a.m.

The four's identities have not been disclosed yet.

They are the first group of defectors who have come to South Korea by sea since May, when nine defectors, including children, came to the South by crossing the Northern Limit Line on the Yellow Sea.

The defectors in May were two North Korean families, the first group to defect as a family in six years since 2017.

North Korea is reportedly suffering from a severe famine.

According to the National Intelligence Service (NIS) report in August, 240 people in North Korea died from starvation in the first seven months of this year. This is two times the average in the last five years.

The NIS speculated that the famine situation has worsened, especially since North Korea had its borders closed during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Unification Ministry said food prices have skyrocketed in the North.

In the first quarter of this year, a kilogram (2.2 lbs) of flour increased in price by more than five times while those of corn doubled and sugar by ninefold.

BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]