The number of North Korean refugees arriving in South Korea held steady last year, reflecting continued tightened North Korean border controls since the rise to power of Kim Jong Un.

South Korea's Ministry of Unification said Tuesday 1,516 North Korean refugees arrived in the South last year, up by 14 people from 2012. That brings the total official number of escapees to 26,124, the ministry statistics show.

While many North Koreans leave their homeland for good every year, the number arriving in South Korea tumbled 44% between 2011 and 2012. Activists and recent refugees attribute the decline to Pyongyang's border crackdown following Mr. Kim's succession in late 2011.

Lim Jae-cheon, a professor at Korea University's department of North Korean studies, said insecurity inside the young dictator's regime drives its stress on defection control.

Mr. Lim added the watch over the Sino-North Korean border is likely to be loosened in the long term after the political elite feel more confident about the power structure and/or after vigilance and discipline among border patrols wears off.