Women accounted for more than 80 percent of North Korean defectors who settled in the South last year, an opposition lawmaker said Wednesday, reflecting the changing demographics among asylum seekers.

According to the data compiled by Rep. Sim Jae-kwon of the Minjoo Party of Korea, 1,025 women arrived in South Korea from North Korea last year, taking up 80.3 percent of the total number of defectors.

The figure marks a sharp increase from 12.2 percent posted in 1988. Women made up half of all defectors for the first time in 2002 at 55.3 percent.

Sim said the rising number of women is due the fact they are given more leeway to move about in the North, compared to men who generally have fixed occupations.

Around half of North Korean teenagers defecting to the South were born in a third country, the data also showed.

Sim said such teenagers face language barriers in the South, and are also treated differently compared to other defectors in terms of government support.

"The government must improve programs for female defectors so that they can find a stable job and earn a living, while providing teenagers born in a third country with a clearly defined status," the lawmaker said. (Yonhap)