According to the BOK estimate, North Korea's international trade was down 18 percent at US$6.25 billion in 2015 — the first contraction since 2009. China accounted for 91 percent of North Korea's trade in 2015, followed by Russia, India and Thailand, a statement from South Korea's Trade-Investment Promotion Agency said in June. North Korea economy shrinks for first time in 5 years, says the Bank of KoreaSEOUL--North Korea's economy contracted for the first time in five years in 2015, the South's central bank said Friday, undermining leader Kim Jong Un's stated policy of simultaneous military and economic development. The isolated North's gross domestic product appeared to have shrunk 1.1 percent last year — the first downturn since 2010 and the sharpest fall since 2007, the Bank of Korea said. The downturn came during a period of rapid development for North Korea's nuclear weapons program — topped by a fourth atomic test in January that resulted in a substantial tightening of international sanctions on Pyongyang.

Source: The China Post July 22, 2016 16:30 UTC