North Korea’s exports rose to an eight-year high in 2025, data showed Tuesday. This 2018 photo shows employees working at a silk factory in Pyongyang. File Photo by How Hwee Young/EPA
North Korea’s exports rose sharply to an eight-year high in 2025 as the country’s trade continued to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed Tuesday.
North Korea exported US$468.59 million worth of goods in 2025, up 30 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA).
The figure marked the highest level since 2017, when the country’s goods exports reached US$1.77 billion.
The reclusive country’s exports have steadily increased in recent years after plunging in 2020 due to the global outbreak.
Its imports totaled $2.66 billion, up 13.9 percent from a year earlier, resulting in a trade deficit of $2.19 billion.
China was North Korea’s biggest trade partner, accounting for 98.2 percent of its total trade.
North Korea’s trade deficit with China rose 11.9 percent to US$2.19 billion last year.
Prepared feathers and down, minerals, steel, mineral fuels, and watches and watch parts were North Korea’s major export items, the latest KOTRA data showed.
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