North Korea's June 'Chinese Imports' Recover to Over 10 Million Dollars

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Amid North Korea's continued border controls due to concerns over the spread of COVID-19, it has been confirmed that last month's imports from China have recovered to the $10 million range.

According to the website of China's customs authority, the General Administration of Customs, North Korea's imports of Chinese goods last month amounted to $12.318 million (approximately 14.05 billion KRW).

This year, North Korea's imports from China were virtually halted in January and February, recording only $29,000 (about 3 million KRW) and $3,000 (about 342,000 KRW), respectively, but increased to $12.978 million (about 14.8 billion KRW) in March. Then, it rose further to $28.751 million (about 32.8 billion KRW) in April before sharply dropping again to $2.714 million (about 3.09 billion KRW) in May.

Recent Chinese imports by North Korea are believed to have been mainly conducted via ships. Regarding land trade between North Korea and China, there have been expectations of resumption around the birthday of Kim Il-sung, the 'Day of the Sun' (April 15), but due to concerns over COVID-19 variants, North Korea appears to be maintaining a high level of vigilance.

On the 29th of last month, Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, mentioned at an expanded meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party that a "serious incident" occurred where responsible officials neglected the execution of the Party's important decisions amid prolonged emergency quarantine measures. Consequently, top military officials were dismissed or demoted.

The National Intelligence Service analyzed in a report to the National Assembly Intelligence Committee on the 8th that the "quarantine serious incident" was a complex result of inadequate preparation for operating disinfection facilities at the Uiju quarantine station in North Pyongan Province (which would be used upon resumption of land trade between North Korea and China), delays in supplying wartime reserve rice, and poor management practices.

Meanwhile, North Korea's exports to China last month amounted to $1.818 million (about 2.07 billion KRW), and the total trade volume between North Korea and China last month, combining imports and exports, was $14.136 million (about 16.12 billion KRW). This is approximately 6% of the total trade volume of $226.639 million (about 258.59 billion KRW) between the two countries in June 2019, before the spread of COVID-19.

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