North Korea’s trade with China more than doubled last year, reaching a record high since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, as Pyongyang boosted imports.
The total value of $2.3 billion marks a significant increase from about $1 billion in 2022 and a mark of $2.8 billion in 2019, according to China’s General Administration of Customs (GAC) data released on Thursday.
Experts believe the recovery in North Korean trade in 2023 is expected to be a major factor behind leader Kim Jong Un’s recent outlook for the country’s development after he praised economic growth at the end of 2023.
Imports of commodities from China exceeded $2 billion in 2023. Although exports have plateaued in recent months, they remain robust compared to 2021 and 2022, reaching a six-year high of $292 million in 2023.
Previously, GAC data revealed that North Korea relied heavily on imports of human and animal hair to produce wigs and other artificial hair that became the top import commodity last year.
China is expected to release further data on specific items in the coming days.
The rebound in trade figures for last year comes after Kim Jong Un recently declared that the country’s GDP would grow by 40 per cent from 2020 to 2023, despite experiencing a “serious food shortage” last year due to poor farming conditions.
