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As North Korea’s trade with China fell dramatically this year, exports to Russia, one of the top three trading partners, also fell dramatically. Meanwhile, the number of countries that have registered trade records with North Korea has halved after four years. Reporter Ham Ji-ha complies.
The total amount of goods North Korea exported to Russia in the first and third quarters of this year was $ 628,000.
As a result of the VOA’s examination of the International Trade Organization (ITC) trade data, it was found that North Korea recorded exports of $ 164,000, $ 6,000, and $ 458,000 in the first, second, and third quarters, respectively.
This is a maximum of one-tenth compared to $ 1.85 million in January-September last year or $ 6.3 million in the same period in 2016 before the sanctions against North Korea, which is interpreted as a result of the aftermath in all rule of the new coronavirus.
However, the amount of North Korean imports to Russia was $ 42 million in the first to third quarters, up from $ 36.25 million last year.
It’s also just a slight decrease compared to $ 46.68 million in 2016.
In the midst of this, North Korea is attracting attention as its exports to countries other than China, which is the largest trading country, are at level 13 from the previous year due to the aftermath of the new coronavirus.
According to ITC data, the total exports recorded by North Korea with countries other than China during the second quarter of this year, or April-June, was $ 7.3 million.
This is only about 14% compared to $ 58.84 million in the same period last year, when exports were already down after the sanctions, and only 7.4% compared to $ 97.69 million in the second quarter of 2016 , before sanctions.
In the wake of the new coronavirus, trade with China, the largest trading country, dropped dramatically, while the amount of trade with countries other than China also dropped dramatically.
The income was the same.
As of the second quarter of 2016, North Korea imported about $ 71.2 million in goods from countries other than China, and last year, when the sanctions were visible, the import amount was $ 3.25 million.
However, revenue for the second quarter of this year was confirmed to be just $ 21.3 million, about $ 10 million less than last year.
Since ITC releases import and export data submitted by each country, some countries have yet to release second quarter trade data.
However, even taking these countries into account, it is worth paying attention to the fact that the amount of trade in North Korea has significantly decreased compared to the previous year.
It is also noteworthy that the number of countries with which North Korea trades has also decreased significantly this year.
In the first half of this year (Q1 ~ 2), 39 countries recorded exports of at least $ 1,000 with North Korea, up half compared to 62 last year or 83 in 2016.
Importing countries were also 29 countries in the first half of this year, which is a big difference from 41 and 58 last year in 2016.
Taken together, North Korea’s trade, which was greatly reduced due to sanctions against North Korea, can be interpreted as taking another hit this year when it encountered the new coronavirus.
Previously, the VOA cited data from the China Customs General and reported that the total trade volume between North Korea and China in October was $ 1,659,000, the lowest since 1998, when the trade volume of the two began to be disclosed. countries.
Although the amount of trade from other countries for the second half of the year has yet to be disclosed, assuming the current atmosphere continues, it is highly likely that the amount of trade with other countries, except China, this year will also reach the lowest level. in 20 years.
North Korean economic experts have recently analyzed that North Korea’s economy is facing an unprecedented crisis based on indicators of trade with China.
William Brown, a professor at Georgetown University last month, in a phone call with VOA, noted that the recent decline in trade between North Korea and China was very different from before.
[녹취: 브라운 교수] “They show how little is traded. Throughout the year there have been … “Until recently, trade between North Korea and China continued to decline as UN sanctions triggered by North Korea’s nuclear development, etc., and the novel coronavirus outbreak overlapped, but in October, the level trade reached a level where there is almost no trade.
Professor Brown said that even imports and exports of goods that were not blocked by the UN sanctions have slowed since the new coronavirus, showing that the economic wave beyond the sanctions is taking place in North Korea.
This is Jiha Ham, VOA News.
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