Tokyo ? More than 20 defectors from North Korea have been taken into protective custody by the Japanese Consulate General in Shenyang, China, since the end of last year. Of those, nine were admitted to Japan, government sources said.

The nine are Japanese wives of former pro-Pyongyang Korean residents of Japan and their families. The rest of the 20 or so defectors are expected to be admitted by summer.

With the inclusion of these people, about 150 North Korean defectors will have settled in Japan.

The increase in the number of people defecting to Japan from North Korea, which had been about 10 a year in recent years, apparently reflects worsening living standards in the reclusive country, and that more aging Japanese wives want to return to Japan.