North Korea’s exports and imports both posted double-digit growth in 2024, pushing the country’s total foreign trade up 16.5% year over year to $3.13 billion, according to a new report by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA).
The increase signals a resumption of trade expansion following a temporary slowdown in 2024, bringing North Korea’s overall trade volume close to its pre-pandemic 2019 level of $3.24 billion.
In its 2025 North Korea Foreign Trade Trends report released on July 27, KOTRA said North Korea’s exports rose 30.0% from a year earlier to $469 million, while imports increased 13.9% to $2.66 billion.
Since 1990, KOTRA has published annual analyses of North Korea’s external trade based on data from overseas trade offices, national statistical agencies, and local information sources.
North Korea’s trade deficit widened 10.9% from the previous year to $2.19 billion.
Trade with China, North Korea’s largest trading partner, climbed 16.3% year over year to $3.07 billion. Exports to China totaled $441 million, while imports reached $2.63 billion, resulting in a bilateral trade deficit of $2.19 billion.
China’s share of North Korea’s total trade also increased slightly, accounting for 98.2% of the country’s total foreign trade in 2024, up from 98.0% a year earlier.
North Korea’s top five export categories remained unchanged from the previous year: prepared feathers and down products—including wigs and false eyelashes—minerals, iron and steel, mineral fuels, and clocks and watch parts.
Prepared feathers and down products remained the country’s largest export category, rising 8.6% year over year to $206 million and accounting for 43.9% of total exports.
The top five import categories also remained unchanged: mineral fuels, plastics and plastic products, prepared feathers and down products, animal and vegetable fats and oils, and synthetic filament fibers.
Imports of prepared feathers and down products and synthetic filament fibers increased 21.9% and 19.3%, respectively, suggesting expanded imports of raw materials used in export-oriented processing activities.
“KOTRA expects North Korea’s foreign trade to continue its recent growth trend in 2025, approaching pre-pandemic levels seen in 2019,” a KOTRA official said. “With exports increasing 30% year over year, we will continue monitoring whether meaningful changes emerge in the country’s trade structure and export composition.”