The number of South Koreans visiting the North has reached a five-year high as civilian exchanges have increased following the August 25 inter-Korean agreement.

The Ministry of Unification said Friday that one-thousand-778 South Koreans visited the North between January and November, up more than three times from last year.
 
Social and cultural exchanges topped the list with one-thousand-481 people engaging in 51 events, followed by humanitarian support at 220 people in 18 events.
 
The number of visitors to the North had reached around six-thousand-200 in 2010, but fell to one-thousand-600 in 2011 following the May 24 sanctions and plunged to about 200 in 2012 and 2013.