Last Year North Korea's Foreign Trade Volume Reached 3.24 Billion USD... Turned to an Increasing Trend After 3 Years

KOTRA '2019 North Korea Foreign Trade Trends' Report
China Trade Dependence Exceeds 95% for 2 Consecutive Years

(Photo by KOTRA)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] Last year, North Korea's foreign trade volume, excluding inter-Korean trade, recorded $3.24 billion, an increase of 14.1% compared to the previous year. Although it turned to an upward trend for the first time in three years since 2016, it remained at about half the level before UN sanctions were implemented.

According to the '2019 North Korea Foreign Trade Trends' report released by KOTRA on the 23rd, North Korea's exports increased by 14.4% year-on-year to $280 million, and imports increased by 14.1% year-on-year to $2.97 billion. The trade deficit increased by 14.1% from $2.36 billion in 2018 to $2.69 billion last year.

Trade with China, North Korea's largest trading partner, recorded $3.09 billion (exports $220 million, imports $2.88 billion), up 13.6% from 2018. The trade deficit also increased by 14.1% to $2.66 billion. China's share in North Korea's total trade exceeded 95% for two consecutive years in 2018 and 2019, showing a high dependence on trade. Even excluding the estimated crude oil imports of $290 million, it accounted for 94.9%.

Following China, Russia, Vietnam, and India ranked as North Korea's top four trading countries. Vietnam, South Africa, and Nigeria newly entered the top 10. However, except for China and Russia, the countries in the top 10 accounted for less than 1% of North Korea's total foreign trade.

Notably, since 2018, light industrial products have become a major trading item for North Korea. This is because light industrial products are not affected by the UN resolutions, which significantly expanded the list of sanctioned items for trade with North Korea adopted in 2017.

North Korea's largest export item is watches and parts. After recording a 1,533.7% increase in 2018, it rose 57.9% in 2019, becoming the top export item. Exports of processed animal hair and down, including wigs, also increased by 40.9% last year, ranking third in exports. Optical, medical devices, and parts, including exhibition models, surged to fifth place with a 47.5% increase.

The largest import item remained mineral oils such as crude oil and refined oil, the same as in 2018. This item accounted for $350 million in imports, representing 11.7% of total imports. Plastics and products, synthetic filament fibers, animal and vegetable oils and their breakdown products remained among the top imported items. Notably, grain imports rose 242% year-on-year due to food shortages, ranking fifth.

A KOTRA official said, "Last year's North Korea foreign trade showed little change in the overall trade framework, such as concentration on China and increased exports and imports of light industrial products." They added, "Considering that North Korea-China trade significantly decreased until May this year due to the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), it is unlikely that the trade growth trend will continue in 2020."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.