N. Korea's exports hit 5-year high in 2024: data

People work at a clothes manufacturing factory in North Korea, in this photo provided by the Chosun Shinbo, a newspaper run by a pro-North Korean group representing Zainichi Koreans, July 20. Yonhap

North Korea's exports climbed to the highest amount in five years last year, data showed Monday.

North Korea exported a total of $360.4 million worth of goods in 2024, up 10.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA).

The figure marks the highest since 2019. North Korea's exports have been steadily increasing over the past three years after posting a sharp decline in 2020 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Such an increase in exports was largely driven by a rise in shipments of wigs and faux lashes, as well as minerals, including tungsten, the agency said.

North Korea's imports, on the other hand, fell 4.4 percent on-year to $2.3 billion. Accordingly, the reclusive country's overall trade volume shrank 2.6 percent on-year to about $2.7 billion.

China continued to remain North Korea's top trading partner, accounting for 98 percent of its entire trade. The regime's trade deficit with China, however, shrank 8.4 percent from $2.1 billion in 2023 to $2 billion last year.

Along with China, Argentina, Vietnam, the Netherlands and Nigeria were among the top five trade partners of North Korea, the data showed.