The North Korean economy contracted 0.1% in 2021, according to the South Korean Statistical Office, which attributes this evolution to the sanctions on Pyongyang and the impact of the pandemic.
This calculation published today thus points to the second consecutive decline in the economy of the neighboring country, although much less than the contraction of 4.5% estimated for 2020.
The impoverished Asian country is subject to United Nations sanctions for its nuclear and long-range ballistic missile programs, to which has been added the total armoring of its borders applied by the regime since the start of the global health crisis of the coronavirus.
This has prevented not only the entry and exit of goods from the country, but also the arrival of vital income such as those generated by tourism or foreign investment, both coming mostly from China, the main supporter of the Kim Jong-un regime.
North Korea’s foreign trade fell 17.3% in 2021 to a volume of 710 million dollars, mainly due to the fact that its exchanges with Beijing were slowed down by the aforementioned restrictions.