SEOUL, South Korea — The personal information of nearly 1,000 North Koreans who defected to South Korea has been leaked after unknown hackers gained access to a resettlement agency’s database, the South Korean Unification Ministry said on Friday.

The ministry said it discovered last week that the names, birth dates and addresses of 997 defectors had been stolen through a computer infected with malicious software at an agency called the Hana center, in the southern city of Gumi.

A ministry official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, told reporters that the malware had been planted through emails sent from a Hana center email account.

The Hana center is among 25 institutes that the Unification Ministry runs across South Korea to help some 32,000 defectors adjust to life in the country by providing jobs, medical and legal support.