S. Korea seeking additional resettlement facility for N.K. defectors

SEOUL, April 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's unification minister said Tuesday the
government is seeking to construct an additional resettlement center for North
Korean defectors, as their numbers have increased.
More than 15,000 North Koreans have entered South Korea since the end of the
1950-53 Korean War to escape political oppression and chronic food shortages in
their communist homeland. A total of 2,809 defectors came to the South last year
alone.
Late last year, the government expanded the Hanawon resettlement center's housing
capacity from 300 to 700.
"Hananwon is not insufficient in accommodating the defectors at present, but we
have to prepare for the future," Minister Hyun In-taek said during a
parliamentary interpellation session.
However, the minister said it is hard to determine when the additional facility
will be built, as more discussions with budget authorities are needed.
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