Coronavirus appears to be hurting North Korea harder than trade sanctions: report

Its trade with China shrank 73 per cent through September and is set to fall 80 per cent for the whole year, says a Seoul trade association

The trend shows that while sanctions mainly hit the North’s exports to China, the pandemic has severely curtailed imports from its giant neighbour

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People wearing face masks cross a road in Pyongyang, North Korea. Photo: AP

Published: 1:30pm, 28 Nov 2020Updated: 1:30pm, 28 Nov 2020

The closure of borders to safeguard North Korea from the coronavirus pandemic is dealing a bigger blow to trade with the isolated economy than international sanctions, according to a report by a trade association in Seoul.

North Korea’s trade with China, by far its largest economic partner, shrank 73 per cent through September and is on course to plunge 80 per cent for the whole year, the Korea International Trade Association said on Friday.

That would exceed the 57 per cent drop seen during the same period in 2018 when international sanctions intensified to penalise the Pyongyang regime for its tests of nuclear weapons and missiles to deliver warheads, the report said.

To be sure, in absolute terms the impact of sanctions on the country’s trade is larger than the drop seen so far this year.

Still, the trend in trade figures shows that while sanctions mainly hit the North’s exports to China, the pandemic has severely curtailed imports from Korea’s giant neighbour.

Pyongyang has so far denied any confirmed Covid-19 cases on its soil, but reports from state media suggest the country is experiencing extreme economic pain.

Store shelves in Pyongyang have seen sharp drops in several food staples compared to a year ago, specialist service NK News reported this week.

A person undergoes a health check in Pyongyang on November 16, 2020. Photo: AFP