Hackers steal data on 1,000 North Korean defectors in South

Personal details leaked through malware-infected computer, says 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 has said.

The ministry said it discovered last week 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 centre, in the southern city of Gumi.