N. Korean defectors to receive longer resettlement training

SEOUL, Dec. 22 (Yonhap) -- North Koreans defecting to the South will undergo a
12-week rehabilitation program beginning in March, officials said Monday.

Currently, the South Korean government requires those starting a new life here to
take an eight-week program at the resettlement center, called Hanawon, in
Anseong, about 70km south of Seoul.
"The extension of the period is to give adequate education," a Unification
Ministry official said. "It will go into effect around March after related
preparations."
The government is also in consultations with experts to update the curriculum in
the center, he added.
Earlier this month, the ministry completed the remodeling of Hanawon, doubling
its housing capacity to 600.
More than 14,000 North Korean refugees have fled to South Korea since the end of
the Korean War in 1953.
lcd@yna.co.kr
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