According to the report issued by the Bank of Korea, it is estimated that “the North’s economy advanced by 3.1% last year, after contracting by 0.2% in 2022, by 0.1% in 2021, and by 4.5% in 2020.”
The manufacturing sector increased by 5.9% last year, compared to 2.5% the year before, and the agriculture sector recorded a rise of 1.0%, reversing its decline of 2.1% the year before, according to the report.
The services sector also grew by 1.7% last year, compared to the previous year when it grew by 1.0%.
In 2020, “the North suffered its worst economic contraction since 1997, as Pyongyang closed its borders due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The country was also hit by tough UN sanctions over its nuclear and missile programs,” the report said.
He pointed out that “the value of North Korea’s foreign trade reached 2.77 billion US dollars last year, up from 1.59 billion US dollars the year before, after the easing of cross-border restrictions.
“North Korea’s exports more than doubled to $330 million in 2023 from $160 million a year earlier,” he said, adding that “imports reached $2.44 billion last year, up 71.3 percent from the previous year.”
He stated that “trade between the two Koreas has reached zero, after reaching $100,000 in 2022, $1.1 million in 2021, and $3.9 million in 2020. In 2016, trade between the two Koreas amounted to $332 million before the closure of the inter-Korean industrial complex.”
The Bank of Korea’s annual report is based on “data from South Korean institutions specializing in North Korea, which do not publish official economic data.”
Source: Yonhap
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2024-07-28 01:26:57
