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North Korea’s 2008 trade hits record $3.8 bn
Trade jumped 29.7 per cent compared with 2007, the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, a South Korean trade agency, said in a report.
Last year, North Korea’s exports rose 23 per cent to $1.13 billion with imports climbing 32.7 per cent to $2.69 billion, the report said. The country still posted a trade deficit of $1.56 billion for the year.
The report also showed that China’s influence on North Korea’s moribund economy is rising quickly.
The communist nation exported $750 million worth of goods to China and imported $2.03 billion last year.
"North Korea’s trade with China hit a record last year and keeps growing," the report said.
"In the face of the global economic slump and the North’s rocket launch, North Korea’s external trade is expected to shrink this year. But, China’s influence on the North Korean economy is likely to grow further," it noted. -ANN
