President Lee Jae Myung has promised greater efforts to support North Korean defectors in resettling in the South, saying he will thoroughly consider their suffering and difficulties.

In a message delivered by Vice Unification Minister Kim Nam-jung on Monday at a ceremony marking the Second North Korean Defectors’ Day, the president said every member of South Korean society has the right to receive customized state support and live as a member of the community.

Lee said the government will go beyond the basic state support it provides for defectors and will make active efforts to assist them in growing, achieving self-reliance, and integrating with their local communities.

The president also thanked local residents who are making efforts to help North Korean defectors resettle in South Korea.

Lee said defectors have directly and vividly experienced the pain of inter-Korean division, stressing that 80 years of separation have left many people with emotional scars.