North Korea 2025 exports reach highest since 2017, KOTRA data show

China accounts for 98.2% of North Korea’s total trade

North Korea exported $468.59 million worth of goods in 2025, up 30 percent from the prior year, the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency reported Tuesday. The figure marked the highest export total since 2017, when North Korea shipped $1.77 billion in goods abroad.

North Korea’s trade had plummeted in 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and has steadily recovered since, the data showed. Imports rose 13.9 percent to $2.66 billion, widening the country’s trade deficit to $2.19 billion.

China was North Korea’s largest trade partner, accounting for 98.2 percent of its total trade volume. North Korea’s trade deficit with China alone rose 11.9 percent to $2.19 billion last year.

Prepared feathers and down, minerals, steel, mineral fuels, and watches and watch parts were the country’s leading export categories, according to KOTRA data.