N. Korea's overall trade volume grows to record high in 2013
2014/05/22 06:00
SEJONG, May 22 (Yonhap) -- Despite years of international sanctions, North Korea's overall trade volume reached a new annual high in 2013 due largely to growing shipments to and from its closest ally, China, a South Korean trade agency said Thursday.
The North's overall trade volume came to US$7.34 billion in 2013, up 7.8 percent from the previous year, according to the state-run Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA).
"It is the highest amount since KOTRA began compiling data on North Korea's annual trade volumes in 1990," it said in a press release.
The country's exports jumped 11.7 percent on-year to $3.22 billion, with imports growing 5 percent to $4.12 billion.
Bilateral trade volume between North Korea and China came to $6.54 billion, accounting for 89.1 percent of the North's overall trade in 2013.
"North Korea's dependence on China for trade has been increasing steadily since 2005 when its trade volume with China exceeded 50 percent of its overall trade," KOTRA said.
"In addition, it shows China's pledge to tighten its customs check on shipments to and from North Korea, in protest of North Korea's missile launch in December 2012 and a nuclear test in February 2013, did not have any significant effect on North Korea-China trade," it added.
The large increase in North Korea's overall exports was attributed to growing shipments of fuel, such as coal, which surged 14.9 percent on-year to $1.43 billion, accounting for 44.4 percent of the country's total exports.
Out of all energy exports, 97.2 percent were shipped to China.
Russia, another North Korean ally, was the country's second-largest trading partner in 2013, with bilateral trade volume spiking 37.3 percent to $104 million.
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