NK economy-BOK estimate

NK economy-BOK estimate

N. Korea suffers economic contraction for 3rd straight year in 2022: BOK report

SEOUL, July 28 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's economy contracted for the third straight year in 2022 amid continued global sanctions, controls on border crossings and bad weather, a central bank report showed Friday.

The country's economy is estimated to have decreased 0.2 percent last year, following a 4.5 percent contraction in 2020 and a 0.1 percent dip in 2021, according to the report from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

In 2020, the North suffered the worst economic contraction since 1997, as Pyongyang closed its borders over the COVID-19 pandemic.

The country also took a hit from tightened U.N. sanctions over its nuclear and missile programs.

The BOK's annual report is based on data from South Korean institutions specializing in North Korea, which does not publish official economic data.

North Korea's foreign trade more than doubled to US$1.59 billion last year from $710 million the previous year on the back of resumed trade with China, its strongest ally, and eased cross-border curbs.

The North's exports totaled $160 million in 2022, up 94 percent from a year ago. Imports stood at $1.43 billion, up 126 percent over the cited period, the BOK said.

Inter-Korean trade stood at nearly zero last year, coming in at $100,000, a sharp decline from $3.9 million in 2020 and $1.1 million in 2021. In 2016, inter-Korean trade reached $332 million before the closure of the inter-Korean industrial complex.

North Korea's nominal gross national income (GNI) stood at 36.7 trillion won ($28.6 billion) last year. That was equivalent to just 1.7 percent of South Korea's GNI.

The North's GNI per capita stood at 1.43 million won last year, equivalent to 3.4 percent of the South's GNI per capita.

Pyongyang's population was estimated at 25.66 million last year, compared with Seoul's 51.62 million.

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