SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea said on Sunday that it would quadruple the cash reward it provides for North Korean defectors arriving with sensitive information to 1 billion won, or $860,000, in an effort to encourage more elite members from the North to flee. The South Korean government helps them resettle by providing job training, rent and other subsidies. South Korea said the drastic increases reflected the effects of inflation over the 20 years since the rewards were last adjusted. The number of North Korean defectors arriving in the South, which peaked with 2,914 in 2009, has since dropped to 1,418 last year. Once in China, defectors have to pay smugglers to take them to countries like Laos and Thailand, where they can seek asylum in the South Korean Embassy.

Source: New York Times March 05, 2017 12:11 UTC