North Korea's trading with China topped 70 percent of its total exports and imports last year, a report said Thursday, indicating that the North's reliance on its closest ally is increasing amid its isolation from the world.
According to the report by Statistics Korea, the North's bilateral trading with China came to $5.63 billion last year, accounting for 70.1 percent of its total trading with foreign countries.
The ratio is higher than 56.9 percent estimated in 2010 and marked the first time that it has exceeded the 70 percent level since the South Korean statistics agency compiled related data in 2000.
Information on North Korea is hard to obtain. The statistics agency collects related data from domestic and foreign research institutes studying the communist country and unveils them every year.
The increase in the North's dependence on China is attributable to the country's further isolation from the world and strained relationship with South Korea. The ratio of its trading with the South fell to 21.3 percent last year from 31.4 percent in 2010.
As North Korea remains isolated from the international community, the economic gap between the two Koreas has been widening.
South Korea's external trading volume amounted to $1.08 trillion last year which is 171.4 times larger than $6.3 billion for the North, the data showed.
South Korea's per-capita gross national income totaled 24.92 million won last year, which is 18.7 times larger than 1.33 million won ($1,239) tallied for the North, according to the data.
The income gap between the two Koreas, however, slightly narrowed, as the North's economy posted a 0.8 percent growth last year, the first positive growth in three year. (Yonhap)
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