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North Korea Foreign Trade Trend Base DB 2021

Overview of the North Korea Foreign Trade Trend Base DB

This base database systematically organizes North Korea's external trade trends in 2021. Under the dual pressure of UN Security Council sanctions and pandemic-era border closures, the country's trade activity remained severely contracted. The database reviews major trade partners, import and export items, payment methods, and trade with Bangladesh to support KOTRA's information-gathering and reporting on North Korea.

$0.7B
Total Trade
Down 78% from $3.2B in 2019
China 95%
Main Partner
Near-total dependence
Minerals, seafood
Export Items
Heavily affected by sanctions
$1.2M
Trade with BD
Minimal volume maintained

Structure of North Korea's External Trade

North Korea's total external trade in 2021 was approximately $0.7 billion, down 78% from $3.2 billion in 2019. UN sanctions imposed in 2016-2017 were compounded by pandemic-related border restrictions starting in January 2020, leaving trade activity close to paralysis. Dependence on China rose to more than 95%, creating an extremely concentrated trade structure.

North Korea External Trade Trend by Year ($M)
YearExportsImportsTotal TradeYoY
2017$1,772$3,468$5,240-15%
2018$242$2,602$2,844-46%
2019$281$2,943$3,224+13%
2020$90$480$570-82%
2021$58$630$688+21%

Analysis of Major Trade Partners

Due to sanctions and pandemic border restrictions, North Korea's trade counterpart base was effectively reduced to China. Only very limited trade flows remained with India, Russia, Bangladesh, and a few other partners.

01
China (95.2%)
Trade with China reached $655 million in 2021. Food, fuel, and consumer goods were imported, while minerals and processed seafood were exported. The Dandong-Sinuiju land corridor remained the main route.
02
India (1.8%)
Trade with India totaled $12.4 million, centered mainly on pharmaceutical and chemical imports outside direct sanctions coverage.
03
Russia (1.2%)
Trade with Russia stood at $8.3 million, focused largely on energy and grain imports, with only minimal interaction linked to the Rajin-Khasan project.
04
Bangladesh (0.2%)
Trade with Bangladesh amounted to $1.2 million, driven mainly by imports of Bangladeshi garments and textiles. Exports were almost negligible, resulting in a strongly one-sided structure.

Bangladesh-North Korea Trade Details

Bangladesh to North Korea Exports (Direct)
Value$1.1M
Main ItemsGarments, textiles
PaymentMostly TT
TrendSimilar to previous year
North Korea to Bangladesh Exports (Indirect)
Value$0.1M
Main ItemsMineral products
Transit MarketsChina, Singapore
TrendVery limited under sanctions

Monitoring Implications

Sanctions Continue
No clear outlook for UN sanctions relief
↓
Pandemic Restrictions
Partial easing signals emerged in late 2021
↓
Trade Recovery
A rebound in China trade was expected in 2022
↓
BD-NK Relations
Very limited exchanges likely to continue
Bangladesh-North Korea Import Payment StatisticsReview import payment statistics and monitoring status related to North Korea.
Five-Year Bangladesh-North Korea Exchange TimelineTrack the five-year trend in bilateral exchange between the two countries.
North Koreaforeign tradebase DB2021trade statistics
North Korea Foreign Trade Trend Base DB 2021 | Dhaka Trade Portal