The number of North Korean defectors who entered South Korea fell 15 percent in the first nine months of this year compared to a year earlier.

South Korea's Unification Ministry said on Sunday that a total of 881 North Koreans defected to South Korea from January to September, down 14-point-nine percent year-on-year.

Of the 881 North Koreans who defected to South Korea this year, 82 percent were women.

The annual figure reached 27-hundred in 2011, but plunged to between 12-hundred and 15-hundred since Kim Jong-un assumed power in late 2011.

The sharp decrease is attributed to North Korea's tightened surveillance and reinforced border security.