The number of North Koreans fleeing to South Korea has declined significantly since Kim Jong-un came to power in Pyongyang, with human rights groups saying security crackdowns on the border with China and the rising prices being demanded by brokers for safe passage are putting many would-be defectors off.

Others have opted to bide their time out of a growing hope that reunification of the two Koreas is a genuine possibility and that they might have the standard of living they know their counterparts in the South enjoy, a defector told The Telegraph.

According to new figures released by the Ministry of Unification, 2,706 North Koreans defected to the South in 2011, although that figure fell to 1,502 the following year. The total had declined to 1,127 successful escapes last year, while the 703 defections in first eight months of this year suggests that the total for 2018 will be only narrowly above the 1,000 level.

“There has been a very clear decline since 2011, the last year that Kim Jong-il was in power, but it also coincides with the rise to power of Xi Jinping in China”, said Park Sokeel, director of research and strategy at Seoul-based Liberty in North Korea.